GAZA/RAMALLAH (WEST BANK) – Plagued by political bickering, divided into three territories and sceptical of the efficacy of their institutions, many Palestinians do not believe that the first national elections in 15 years will bring about change.
President Mahmoud Abbas said on Friday that parliamentary and presidential elections would be held later this year in a bid to heal long-standing divisions. His main rival, the militant Islamist group Hamas, welcomed the move.
The announcement is widely seen as a gesture aimed at pleasing US President-elect Joe Biden, with whom the Palestinians want to reset relations after they reached a low under Donald Trump.
But a December poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found 52% of Palestinians think elections held under present conditions would not be fair and free.
If Hamas won, 76% thought Fatah – the party led by Abbas – would not accept the result and 58% believed Hamas would reject a Fatah victory.
“We have taken an important step but we still have a long way to go,” said veteran West Bank political analyst Hani al-Masri. “Great obstacles remain and without overcoming these obstacles the whole operation will be doomed to fail.”
Palestinian observers said those hurdles include disagreements within Hamas and Fatah – long the dominant faction in the umbrella Palestine Liberation Organization.
It is unclear what mechanism would be put in place to ensure a free election, whether international observers would take part and whether Abbas, aged 85 and in poor health, would run.
The United States, Israel and European Union would likely refuse dealings with any Palestinian government that included Hamas, which is designated by the West as a terrorist group.
The European Union welcomed the election announcement.
“The EU stands ready to engage with relevant actors to support the electoral process. The EU also calls on Israeli authorities to facilitate the holding of elections across all the Palestinian territory,” the EU’s spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said in a statement.
The United Nations also stood ready to support efforts for Palestinians to be able to exercise their democratic rights, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesman said, adding that it would “be a crucial step towards Palestinian unity.”
