Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on Thursday setting legislative elections for November 28, which if they take place, would mark the first such vote in two decades.
The last legislative elections in the Palestinian territories were held in 2006, when Hamas won, defeating Abbas’ Fatah party, which had previously dominated Palestinian politics.
As a result, the Palestinian Legislative Council, which is the parliament of Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, has not met since 2007.
“The presidential decree calls on the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to participate in free and direct legislative elections to elect members of the Palestinian Legislative Council on the date specified,” the official Wafa news agency reported, citing the decree. –Agencies
