PA’s Central Elections Committee begins receiving candidate slates for Nov. 28 legislative election

The Palestinian Authority’s Central Elections Committee says it has begun receiving candidate slates for the PA legislative election scheduled to take place on November 28, for the first time in over two decades.

Parties have until 4 p.m. on October 7 to submit lists of between 16 and 132 candidates, with female representation as required by PA law, the committee says. Lists are to be submitted at the committee’s offices in the central West Bank’s al-Bireh or in the central Gaza Strip’s Deir al-Balah.

Both offices “received a large number of candidate slates on the morning of the first day,” the committee says in a statement.

It adds that candidate slates are not automatically approved and are instead “subject to study and scrutiny to ensure they comply with legal guidelines.”

The PA’s Legislative Council has not met since 2007, a year after Hamas defeated PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah in the last PA legislative election.

Abbas announced in July that the PA would hold legislative elections on November 28, amid demands for PA reforms from the West Bank-based body’s international backers, including the European Union.

It’s unclear whether Hamas or candidates affiliated with it will be allowed to participate in the election. Abbas in June signed a new election law that requires all candidates to accept the Palestine Liberation Organization’s political program, which includes recognition of Israel and support for a two-state solution — both nonstarters for Hamas.

Abbas, 90, who has not stood for reelection since 2005, has also said the PA would hold presidential elections in 2027, but no date has been set.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.