Statement from the National Commission for Palestinian Popular Action on upcoming elections

The National Commission for Palestinian Popular Action has followed the recent publication in the Palestinian Official Gazette of the electoral system governing the Palestinian National Council, as well as the decree-law amending Decree-Law No. (1) of 2007 concerning Palestinian general elections and its amendments, along with reports regarding the imminent issuance of a presidential decree setting a date for holding Palestinian legislative elections in the coming period.

While the Commission affirms that the renewal of national legitimacy through democratic mechanisms and free and fair elections is an indispensable principle in Palestinian political life, it believes that any electoral process cannot be separated from the national, political, and historical context that the Palestinian people are experiencing at this pivotal stage in their history.

Today, the Palestinian people are facing an open war against their national existence and historical rights, amid the continued Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the widespread human and material destruction it has caused. This is taking place in parallel with an unprecedented escalation in settlement, annexation, and the imposition of facts on the ground in the West Bank and occupied Jerusalem, in a clear attempt to undermine any possibility of establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

In this context, the upcoming Palestinian elections may constitute a pivotal political juncture that goes beyond their procedural and organizational dimension, becoming a genuine test of the future of the Palestinian political system and the nature of its representation of our people at home and in the diaspora.

The Commission also affirms that the success of any electoral process is not measured solely by the holding of the vote or the announcement of results, but rather by its ability to strengthen national unity, renew popular legitimacy, and rebuild inclusive national institutions in a manner that ensures the participation of all components of the Palestinian people wherever they may be, preserves the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and strengthens the role of its institutions on democratic and participatory foundations.

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The Commission further stresses that Palestinians in the diaspora constitute an authentic and essential part of the Palestinian people, and that their right to political participation and to choose their representatives within their national institutions, foremost among them the Palestinian National Council, is an inherent national and democratic right that must not be diminished or bypassed.

The Commission believes that the rebuilding of Palestinian national legitimacy will remain incomplete unless it guarantees genuine and fair representation for our people in all places where they are present, in a way that strengthens the unity of the Palestinian people and the cohesion of its components, and safeguards their inalienable national rights, foremost among them the right of return, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent and sovereign state.

The Commission emphasizes that the exceptional circumstances facing the Palestinian cause, the absence of any political horizon, the continued imposition of facts by force by the occupation, and the increasing Judaization and settlement activities in the West Bank and Jerusalem, require all Palestinian forces and factions to rise to the level of national and historical responsibility, and to work to prevent the elections from becoming a new arena for internal conflict or a tool for reproducing division.

The Commission also calls for the launch of a comprehensive and responsible national dialogue before and throughout the electoral process, with the aim of reaching consensus on the political and national guarantees necessary to achieve the broadest possible participation, preserve the unity of the Palestinian political system, and ensure respect for the results of the democratic process and the will of the Palestinian people.

Our Palestinian people, who over many long decades have made immense sacrifices in defense of their land and legitimate national rights, deserve a political system capable of expressing their free will, and a unified national leadership grounded in popular legitimacy and committed to a unifying national project that confronts the current challenges and safeguards the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people.

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