Abbas Delays Palestinian Elections, Sets Combined Vote for September 2027

President Mahmoud Abbas has officially postponed the first Palestinian elections in almost two decades, issuing a decree that pushes the legislative vote back by nearly a year. The new timetable merges the previously separate legislative and presidential contests into a single election held on September 11, 2027.

Under the original plan, the Palestinian Legislative Council was slated to vote on November 28, 2026, with a presidential election scheduled for early 2027. The decree, announced after a meeting of top Palestinian officials, cites the hostile environment in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza as making a fair vote impossible. It points to Israeli restrictions on election materials, the exclusion of international observers from Gaza, and ongoing military raids and settlement expansion.

The PLO Executive Committee, headed by Abbas, said the lack of progress on Gaza’s reconstruction and the absence of an international stabilisation force also contributed to the decision. The move has drawn criticism from Palestinian factions and donors, who fear it will entrench the current leadership and erode the Palestinian Authority’s credibility.

In a separate statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused Abbas of “fooling the international community” by canceling promised elections. Meanwhile, Mustafa Barghouti, secretary‑general of the Palestinian National Initiative, expressed deep disappointment, warning that the concentration of power in the executive undermines the rule of law.

Abbas, who first won the presidency in 2005 and has governed by decree since his term’s scheduled end in 2009, had previously signed a decree in June calling for a presidential election in early 2027. The last parliamentary elections in the territories took place in 2006, when Hamas defeated Fatah, leading to a split that has fueled ongoing conflict.

The decree also notes that Palestinian factions, including Abbas’s own Fatah party, had agreed to a “national dialogue” before the elections, a move that has now been postponed along with the vote itself.