RAMALLAH, September 24 — The Palestinian Central Elections Commission announced Wednesday that it will begin accepting applications for the Palestinian Legislative Council starting Saturday, opening the formal candidate-registration stage for the first Palestinian legislative elections since 2006. The commission said in a statement that it will accept nomination applications until 4 pm (1300GMT) on Oct. 7, a filing window lasting 12 days, including official holidays.
The announcement, reported by Anadolu, sets in motion the registration process for a ballot scheduled for Nov. 28 — a date Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set by decree in July for voting in East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
A timetable running through the autumn
Under the timetable approved by the commission, election campaigning will begin on Nov. 6. Early voting for security forces will take place on Nov. 26, and general voting is scheduled for Nov. 28. The next council will have 132 seats.
The nomination window opening Saturday is the first concrete procedural step toward the Nov. 28 ballot. The 12-day filing period ending Oct. 7 gives prospective candidates and lists a fixed deadline to enter the race.
A council dormant for nearly two decades
The Palestinian Legislative Council has been inactive since 2007 following the Palestinian division, and Abbas ordered its dissolution in 2018. The upcoming vote will be the third Legislative Council election, following those held in 1996 and 2006. Legislative and presidential elections scheduled for 2021 were previously canceled after Abbas decided to postpone them, citing the lack of Israeli approval guaranteeing the participation of Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem.
The commission’s statement did not address how voting would proceed in areas affected by the ongoing conflict. Attention will now focus on which factions and individuals file papers before the Oct. 7 cutoff, and on whether the logistical and political conditions that derailed the 2021 vote re-emerge before campaigning opens on Nov. 6.
