Nov
24
Mahmoud Abbas issued what some have been calling the ‘threat’ of elections in the coming year should Palestine’s two major political factions, Hamas and Fatah, fail to reconcile anytime soon:
“We are determined that there be a continuation of the dialogue and will make every effort for it to succeed but if not, there will be a presidential decree at the onset of next year for simultaneous presidential and legislative elections,” Mr Abbas, pictured below, told a meeting of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) committee members.
He did not set a date for a possible poll but said tha
t any decree would call for elections to be held according to a system of “total proportional representation”, which would do away with the district contests that contributed to Hamas’s shock victory in the 2006 legislative elections. Hamas rejected Mr Abbas’s proposal, a stance which in effect makes it impossible for balloting to be held in Gaza.
Hani al-Masri, the director of the Alternatives think-tank in Ramallah, said that a new poll could make the Fatah-Hamas rivalry more bitter.
“If elections are held without Hamas’s agreement, we could end up with Fatah holding its own elections in the West Bank and Hamas holding its own elections in Gaza. Then the Palestinian division will reach the point of no return.” The ensuing legitimacy crisis could deteriorate to the point of “assassinations and bombings”, he said.
There are also doubts about whether Israel, which controls movement in the West Bank, would agree to polling.
That last point is significant as well, considering a recent report issued by the Isreali defense establishment to the country’s cabinet advising the prevention of “elections in the PA, even at the cost of a confrontation with the US and the international community”.
Just how wise would it be to hold elections in the Palestinian territories? The two factions hold effective strongholds in their respective territories, and any new poll would likely strengthen the divide between Gaza and the West Bank. Abbas is claiming he’d call for elections if no reconciliation is reached; with the governing institutions divided between the two territories, reconciliation seemed to many to be a prerequisite for elections. Add to that Abbas’ inability to stimulate a grass-roots movement among the youth of the West Bank and the subsequent lack of new leaders to reinvigorate Palestinian politics, and a new election process may not necessarily favor Fatah.
I imagine the incoming U.S administration has learned from its experience with the previous Palestinian elections, and likely seek to temper talks of voting and stress the process of reconciliation before new leadership is selected. The unfortunate reality remains that the ‘threat’ of elections seems empty given the consequences such a procedure would entail and the interests of third parties involved in the conflict.
In related Palestine/Israel news, the Saudi-sponsored 2002 Arab Peace Initiative is being pushed by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, and by Abbas who took a more direct route of communicating with Israelis through a full page ad published in Israeli papers. Hamas has denounced the move, calling Abbas a “merchant” for selling Palestinians’ rights.
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Are Palestinians allowed to vote in the elections for the Knesset?
I don’t believe that they are. After the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians were no longer under the official rule of Israel (at least the ones who are not Israeli citizens and live in Gaza or the West Bank).
Of course, this convenient distinction is muddled by the fact that Israel still controls the movement of Palestinians in the territory designated to the Palestinian Authority.