Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree calling for presidential elections in early 2027 and legislative elections to be held in November 2026, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. This marks a significant development in Palestinian politics, where no presidential vote has taken place since 2005.

Abbas, 90, was last elected president in 2005 with a four-year mandate that was never renewed through subsequent elections. Since then, his presidency has been extended through decrees, a practice that has drawn criticism from various quarters. It remains unclear whether Abbas intends to seek re-election.

The decree also emphasizes the organization of elections for the Palestinian National Council (PNC), the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), slated for November. Abbas stated he is “fully prepared to organise the Palestinian National Council elections scheduled for November, which include the general legislative elections in the homeland and elections abroad.” The PNC comprises over 700 members representing Palestinians both in the territories and abroad.

The last legislative elections held in the Palestinian territories took place in 2006, in which Hamas achieved a decisive victory over Abbas’s Fatah party. Following this, the Palestinian Legislative Council—the parliament of the Palestinian Authority (PA)—has not convened since 2007. Since then, the Palestinian political landscape has been marked by division and paralysis.

International stakeholders have pressured the Palestinian Authority to hold elections as part of democratic reforms, which are also conditions tied to financial support. Palestinian legal expert Mahmud Al-Afranji noted a combination of political will and increasing international pressure encouraging the Palestinian Authority to proceed with the elections. However, he pointed to unresolved issues, including the lack of guarantees that voting would occur in occupied East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, as persistent obstacles to holding the legislative elections.

This concern echoes a similar situation in 2021 when Abbas announced plans for legislative and presidential elections scheduled for May and July but subsequently postponed them indefinitely due to Israeli refusal to permit voting in East Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

Meanwhile, Palestinians recently participated in municipal elections in the occupied West Bank in April, marking the first vote since the onset of the Gaza conflict. The upcoming legislative and presidential elections are viewed as critical steps toward political renewal in the Palestinian territories amid ongoing challenges surrounding territorial control and governance.