Wednesday, February 09, 2011

The Palestinian government Tuesday set July 9 as the date for local polls that had been postponed indefinitely in the occupied West Bank, acting as upheaval rocks Egypt over demands for political reform. The Hamas government that rules Gaza promptly rejected the move.

The Palestinian Authority has not held elections since 2006, leaving Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and members of Parliament in office after their elected terms ended.

PA spokesman Ghassan Khatib said the Cabinet decision calls for polls in both of the divided Palestinian territories. He said if Hamas did not allow for vote preparations in Gaza, the balloting would be held only in the West Bank.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said the West Bank government has “no right to call this election.” He said Hamas would not participate in any vote, even in the West Bank, until the two governments were reconciled.
They have been bitter rivals since Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, leaving Abbas governing only in the West Bank. Egyptian-backed efforts to reconcile the two groups have failed.
The PA has had a spotty record with democracy in recent years.

The election was supposed to have been held last July but disagreement within the Fatah movement over who would stand as candidates led to a postponement a month before election day.
In December, a court ruled that the PA, which exercises limited self-rule in the West Bank, must allow the elections to go ahead.

Fatah has been burned twice before by heading into elections despite warnings of impending defeat. Hamas scored heavily in 2005 municipal elections and won a strong majority in the Palestinian Parliament the next year.

Abbas’ four-year term expired in 2009, though it has been extended indefinitely. The Palestinian Parliament’s term expired in 2010, but the legislature remains in office, although its work is hindered by the split between the territories.3

Palestinian local government Minister Khalid Qawasmi said the election was to be for 305 seats in municipalities and village councils in the West Bank and 25 in Gaza.

He said all political groups, including Hamas, could participate. “The government has no objection to any faction or any list. On the contrary, we invite them to join the election,” he said.

Qawasmi denied that the Egyptian upheaval triggered the announcement. The Cabinet was complying with a Supreme Court decision that called last year’s cancellation illegal, he said.

Palestinian analyst Hani al-Masri acknowledged the court decision, but said he still suspected events in Egypt played a role. “The Egyptian uprising was an alert to every regime in the region to correct the situation in its country,” he said, adding the PA has been criticized for its handling of freedom of speech and political power sharing. “Without finding solutions for these problems, no one is immune to upheaval,” he added.

Abbas had called legislative and presidential polls for January 2010 but they were postponed after Hamas banned participation in the Gaza Strip. – AP, Reuters