Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for legislative and presidential elections across the Palestinian territories in November 2026 and early 2027 respectively.

"President Mahmoud Abbas announced that presidential elections will be held in early 2027," reported the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, citing a statement from the presidency.

In his decree, Abbas also said he was "fully prepared to organize the Palestinian National Council elections scheduled for November, which include the general legislative elections in the homeland and elections abroad."

It is unclear, however, whether Abbas, who is now 90 years old, will run himself.

The veteran leader emerged from the last Palestinian presidential election in 2005 with a four-year mandate which should have expired in 2009. But Abbas has continued to rule by presidential decree, prompting criticism both at home and abroad.

When were the last Palestinian elections held?

The last legislative elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), were held in 2006 and resulted in victory for the Islamist group Hamas over Abbas' Fatah party.

Since then, Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by Israel, Germany, the US and others, has governed the Gaza Strip while Abbas' Palestinian Authority has continued to control the other Palestinian territories such as the West Bank. The PLC has not met since 2007.

The holding of democratic elections is part of the reforms demanded by the international community which supports the Palestinian Authority financially.

In 2021, Abbas announced that legislative and presidential elections would be held in May and July of that year, respectively. But they were then postponed indefinitely due to the absence of guarantees that voting could take place in east Jerusalem, which Israel has occupied since 1967.

There is no guarantee that free and fair elections can be held in Gaza, which lies largely in ruins following two years of Israeli assaults in retaliation for the Hamas-led terror attacks on October 7, 2023, and where Hamas still remains in control.

Edited by: Wesley Rahn