Palestinian People's Party supports postponement of elections

The Palestinian elections were formally postponed on 10 October 2026. President Mahmoud Abbas set 11 September 2027 as the new date for simultaneous presidential and legislative elections, replacing the legislative election date of 28 November 2026. The Palestinian leadership cited obstacles to holding free and inclusive elections, particularly Israeli restrictions and the situation in Gaza and occupied East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian People's Party, through its Secretary-General Bassam al-Salhi, supported continuing national dialogue and postponing the presidential and legislative elections until September 2027.

In a statement reported by Wattan, al-Salhi argued that elections could not be separated from the wider developments affecting the Palestinian national cause. He called for a national strategy to confront what the party describes as genocide, ethnic cleansing, annexation and continued aggression, while safeguarding the Palestinian people's presence on their land and pursuing national liberation, independence, sovereignty and the right of return.

The party also proposed that:

• The United Nations provide international supervision of the electoral process, in coordination with the relevant Palestinian institutions.
• Elections be linked to a broader political project rather than treated as an isolated transitional process.
• Palestine be recognised as a state under occupation, with the election of a constituent assembly and the adoption of a constitution.
• National dialogue be expanded to include political and social forces, with practical mechanisms for implementing the party's proposals.

Following the PLO Executive Committee's decision on 10 October, the party's Central Committee welcomed the postponement and called for collective action to implement its proposals.

Separately, WAFA reported that PPP Political Bureau member Walid al-Awad welcomed the decision and called for a review of the preceding three years, including an assessment of the war in Gaza and the severe humanitarian suffering it caused.