Abbas Denies Palestinians Vote Again

Liberty Check

• Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas continues to block democratic elections, denying voters their voice for over two decades.
• The latest delay pushes legislative and presidential votes to September 2027, shielding the Fatah-led regime from accountability.
• Israeli officials call out Abbas for blaming Israel to dodge responsibility while Hamas cheers the postponement.

More than twenty years after Mahmoud Abbas first took office, Palestinians still have no say in who leads them. Abbas just postponed legislative elections that were supposed to happen next month. He also set presidential elections for the same future date in 2027.

The official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported the decree Friday. It extends a nearly twenty-year drought without any vote for the legislature. Presidential elections have not happened since Abbas won in 2005.

“Abbas is terrified by the electoral alliance bringing our faction together with opposition factions and forces within Fatah that reject his leadership,” said Dimitri Dilliani, a spokesperson for rival Mohammed Dahlan’s faction.

The Palestinian Authority governs parts of the West Bank under old agreements from the 1990s. Abbas and his Fatah party face ongoing criticism over corruption and security ties with Israel. The delay protects their power and further erodes the PA’s credibility with the people.

Palestinian officials blamed conditions in the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem for the postponement. They claimed Israel blocked election materials and observers from entering Gaza. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected that excuse outright.

“Abbas’s attempt to drag Israel into this, falsely claiming that Israel imposed obstacles to holding elections, is yet another ridiculous lie designed to evade responsibility and accountability,” Saar posted on X.

Hamas welcomed the delay. The terror group called it “a step in the right direction” and pushed for more talks on rebuilding institutions before any vote. Hamas won the last legislative elections in 2006, then seized Gaza in 2007 after the international community cut ties.

The postponed vote also threatens Abbas from within. Before the delay, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Dahlan’s Fatah faction were exploring an unlikely alliance against him. Abbas now avoids facing that coalition at the ballot box.

The Palestinian Authority’s future role in Gaza remains unclear after last year’s U.S.-brokered ceasefire plan. A committee of technocrats waits in Cairo for permission to enter Gaza. Hamas still runs the territory day to day.

It’s time to push back.