Abbas decree sets Palestinian presidential and legislative elections for 11 September 2027

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on Saturday, 10 October 2026. It sets simultaneous presidential and legislative elections for 11 September 2027.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA published the announcement as a statement from his office. France 24 quoted the statement as saying Abbas "issued a presidential decree on Saturday calling for simultaneous presidential and legislative elections to be held on September 11, 2027". Anadolu Agency also reported that the legislative elections had been postponed to that date.

Background

According to France 24, citing WAFA, the legislative elections had been due on 28 November 2026. France 24 also reported that Abbas signed a decree in June providing for a presidential election at the beginning of 2027.

Earlier in October, WAFA reported that Israel had refused to allow Palestinian election officials access to east Jerusalem or Gaza ahead of the polls, according to France 24. WAFA attributed this to a Palestinian Authority source.

Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, had agreed to hold a "national dialogue" before the November vote, France 24 reported. A source told AFP on Thursday that the factions were seeking to postpone the vote, according to the same outlet. In early September, Fatah Secretary-General Jibril Rajoub told reporters that the November elections would not be held on time, according to France 24.

According to France 24, holding elections is among the reforms the international community, including the European Union, has demanded of the Palestinian Authority.

The last legislative elections took place in 2006. Hamas won, defeating Fatah. Hamas later took control of the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Legislative Council has not met since 2007, France 24 reported. Abbas, 90, won the last presidential election in 2005. According to France 24, his term should have expired in 2009, and he has ruled by decree since then.

What each side says

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar criticised Abbas in a post on X the day before the decree. France 24 quoted him as writing: "Mahmoud Abbas is fooling the international community by cancelling once again promised elections." He also wrote: "They keep deceiving. Consequences? Not for the corrupt PA!"

Rajoub has said that holding presidential elections first "would solve a large part of the problem", according to France 24.

The Palestinian Authority source cited by WAFA said Israel had refused election officials access to east Jerusalem and Gaza. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not include an Israeli response to that claim.

What the reports do not include

The reports do not include any reason from Abbas or his office for the postponement. They do not include the full text of the decree, and they do not say whether it replaces the June decree. They contain no reaction to the decree from Hamas, other factions, the European Union or the Palestinian Central Elections Commission. They also do not describe whether the dispute over access for election officials has been resolved.

Analysis

The decree sets a single date for both votes. Under it, Palestinians would choose a president and a legislature for the first time since 2005 and 2006. Several questions remain open. These include how the decree relates to the June decree on an early-2027 presidential vote, and whether factions taking part in the national dialogue will accept the new timetable. Access for election officials to east Jerusalem and Gaza also remains unresolved in the reports reviewed. International actors, including the EU, could treat the new date as progress on reform or as a further delay. Their response is not yet known, and the outcome depends on factors not described in current reporting.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.