{"id":2467,"date":"2026-10-10T23:03:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T18:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2467"},"modified":"2026-10-10T23:03:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T18:03:53","slug":"abbas-postpones-palestinian-elections-sets-presidential-poll-for-september-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=2467","title":{"rendered":"Abbas postpones Palestinian elections, sets presidential poll for September 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday postponed legislative elections due next month until September 11, 2027, \u200cand called a presidential poll for the same date, blaming Israel and the security situation in the Palestinian territories for the delay.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Abbas\u2019 decree cited \u201cobstacles posed by Israeli measures\u201d and the need to establish suitable political, security and on-the-ground conditions for \u201cfree, fair and inclusive elections\u201d, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

In a post on X, \u200bIsraeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, pointing to the last Palestinian election having been held two decades ago, rejected Abbas\u2019 remarks as \u201cyet \u200banother ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

There had been serious doubts that the Palestinian Authority vote would \u2060go ahead next month. The Palestinians have not held legislative or presidential elections since 2005-2006, after which Abbas\u2019 rival, the Islamist group Hamas, seized \u200bcontrol of Gaza, ousting his loyalists.<\/p>\n

Abbas has governed by decree since his presidential mandate expired in 2009.<\/p>\n

The Palestinian Authority held municipal elections in April \u200bin the West Bank and in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, the only city in the enclave to participate. The vote was the first election held in Gaza since 2006.<\/p>\n

The decree said Israeli military attacks, settlement expansion, settler violence and movement restrictions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, along with Israel\u2019s continued withholding of \u200bPalestinian tax revenues, created challenges to preparing for and holding elections this November.<\/p>\n

In Gaza, the decree pointed to \u201cexceptional security and humanitarian conditions\u201d, the incomplete withdrawal \u200bof Israeli forces, the lack of progress in reconstruction and the failure to implement arrangements for deploying international stabilisation forces and police.<\/p>\n

The decree called on Palestinians \u200cin Jerusalem, \u2060the West Bank and Gaza to vote.<\/p>\n

Israeli restrictions on access for election commission staff and international observers to Gaza and East Jerusalem also complicated preparations, the decree said.<\/p>\n

Israel typically bans the Palestinian Authority from holding elections in East Jerusalem, territory it captured in the 1967 war and later annexed in a move most countries do not recognise.<\/p>\n

The decision to postpone followed consultations with Palestinian factions and political forces. It also aimed to allow \u200btime for a comprehensive Palestinian national \u200bdialogue to strengthen unity and \u2060address challenges facing the electoral process.<\/p>\n

<\/a>PLEDGE TO HOLD VOTE AFTER TWO DECADES<\/h3>\n

Two Palestinian officials told Reuters on Thursday that leaders of Abbas\u2019 Fatah movement and rival Hamas had agreed at a meeting in Cairo on Wednesday \u200bto postpone the elections.<\/p>\n

An August poll by the West Bank-based Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) \u200bshowed declining support for \u2060both Hamas and Fatah, which many Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank blame for their continuing political divisions.<\/p>\n

The delay comes just weeks after Abbas reaffirmed the November election timetable in his September 24 address to the UN General Assembly, as he sought to advance internationally backed reforms.<\/p>\n

Abbas had committed \u2060in writing to \u200bFrench President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to hold presidential \u200band legislative elections as part of France\u2019s recognition of a Palestinian state in September 2025.<\/p>\n

France\u2019s foreign ministry said on Thursday that holding the elections was essential, and it welcomed the launch \u200bof an EU election observation mission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday postponed legislative elections due next month until September 11, 2027, \u200cand called a presidential poll for the same date, blaming Israel and the security situation in the Palestinian territories for the delay. Abbas\u2019 decree cited \u201cobstacles posed by Israeli measures\u201d and the need to establish suitable political, security and on-the-ground conditions for \u201cfree, fair and inclusive elections\u201d, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. In a post on X, \u200bIsraeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, pointing to the last Palestinian election having been held two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2467\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}