Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has announced November 28 as the date for holding parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories, paving the way for the first electoral process in nearly two decades.
According to the presidential decree, citizens in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip will be called to vote to elect members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
"The presidential decree calls on the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to participate in free and direct parliamentary elections," the decree, published by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, said.
The last parliamentary elections were held in 2005, while in 2007 Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip after clashing with Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement.
Since then, Fatah has administered the West Bank, while Hamas has governed Gaza.
The decision to hold the elections comes just days after Hamas announced its withdrawal from direct administration of Gaza, declaring that it would pave the way for a technocratic government to manage the territory.
Organizing elections has long been considered one of the key reforms demanded by the international community, which financially supports the Palestinian Authority and seeks to strengthen democratic institutions.
Mahmoud Abbas, 90, was elected president in 2005 for a four-year term, but since its expiration in 2009 has continued to rule by decree, due to the lack of new elections.
In 2021 he announced the holding of parliamentary and presidential elections, but the process was postponed indefinitely due to disagreements over the conduct of voting in East Jerusalem.
So far, Abbas has not announced whether he will run in the new parliamentary elections, foreign media write.
