Abbas decrees Palestinian elections on September 11, 2027

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on 10 October 2026 setting both presidential and legislative elections for 11 September 2027, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. The decree cancels legislative polls previously scheduled for 28 November 2026, while a presidential vote had been expected in early 2027. Abbas' office said the two votes would now be held simultaneously on the new date.france24.com+1

The postponement matters because Palestinian legislative and presidential elections have not been held since 2005-06, and holding polls is part of the reforms demanded by the international community, including the European Union. The Palestinian Legislative Council, the parliament of the Palestinian Authority, has not met since 2007. Abbas won the last presidential election in 2005, and his term should have expired in 2009; he has since ruled by decree.straitstimes.com

What the decree sets out

The decree calls on Palestinians in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to participate in free and direct elections to choose the Palestinian president and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council simultaneously, WAFA said. The decision followed a resolution by the Palestine Liberation Organization's executive committee and consultations with Palestinian factions and political forces, and aims to allow time for a comprehensive Palestinian national dialogue.

The decree cites obstacles posed by Israeli measures to holding elections in November, and the need to establish suitable political, security and on-the-ground conditions for free, fair and inclusive elections. It points to Israeli military attacks, settlement expansion, settler violence and movement restrictions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, along with Israel's continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues.

In Gaza, the decree points to exceptional security and humanitarian conditions, the incomplete withdrawal of Israeli forces, the lack of progress in reconstruction, and the failure to implement arrangements for deploying international stabilisation forces and police. Israeli restrictions on access for election commission staff and international observers to Gaza and East Jerusalem also complicated preparations, the decree said.

Reasons the decree gives

Palestinian Vice President Hussein Al Sheikh informed France of the postponement in a letter addressed to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, seen by Reuters and dated Thursday. The letter said the anticipated political, security and economic conditions on which the 28 November 2026 date was based had not materialised, and that holding the elections then faced fundamental obstacles affecting inclusiveness, freedom of participation and integrity.

A day before the decree, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar wrote on X that Abbas was fooling the international community by cancelling once again promised elections, adding: "They keep deceiving. Consequences? Not for the corrupt PA!" Palestinian factions including Fatah and Hamas had agreed to hold a national dialogue before legislative elections in November, with a source telling AFP the factions were seeking to postpone the vote.

Where the numbers came from

The last legislative elections in the Palestinian territories were held in 2006, when Hamas won, defeating Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority. The resulting rift set off factional fighting, with Hamas later seizing power in the Gaza Strip and creating a territorial divide between Fatah in the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza. In early September, Fatah secretary-general Jibril Rajoub told reporters the November elections would not be held on time.

What happens next

In June, the 90-year-old Abbas signed a decree providing for a presidential election to be held at the beginning of 2027. The new decree moves that vote and the legislative polls to 11 September 2027, a date roughly ten months after the original legislative schedule of 28 November 2026. The decree calls on Palestinians across Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza to take part. The next dated event is the simultaneous presidential and legislative election on 11 September 2027, as set by Abbas' presidential decree reported by WAFA on 10 October 2026.