Palestinian National Authority: Encyclopedia II - Palestinian National Authority - Political parties and elections

Palestinian National Authority - Political parties and elections

From the establishment of the Palestinian Authority in 1993 until the death of Yasser Arafat in late 2004, only one election had taken place. All other elections were deferred for various reasons.

A single election for president and the legislature took place in 1996. The next presidential and the legislature election were scheduled for 2001, but were delayed following the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Arafat organized the 2005 municipal elections, in which Hamas gained an honorable score. Following Arafat's death, elections for the President of the Authority were announced for January 9, 2005. The PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas won by 62.3% of the vote, while Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, a physician and independent candidate, won 19.8%. [3].

Main article: Palestinian presidential election, 2005

On May 10, 2004 the Palestinian Cabinet announced that municipal elections would take place for the first time. Elections were announced for August 2004 in Jericho, followed by certain municipalities in the Gaza Strip. In July 2004 these elections were postponed. Issues with voter registration are said to have contributed to the delay. Municipal elections finally took place for council officials in Jericho and 25 other towns and villages in the West Bank on December 23, 2004. On January 27, 2005, the first round of the municipal elections, organized by Yasser Arafat before his death, took place in the Gaza Strip for officials in 10 local councils. Further rounds in the West Bank took place in May 2005.

Elections for a new Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) were scheduled for July 2005 by Acting Palestinian Authority President Rawhi Fattuh in January 2005. These elections were postponed by Mahmoud Abbas after major changes to the Election Law were enacted by the PLC which required more time for the Palestinian Central Elections Committee to process and prepare. Among these changes were the expansion of the number of parliament seats from 88 to 132, with half of the seats to be competed for in 16 localities, and the other half to be elected in proportional to party votes from a nationwide pool of candidates. These elections were conducted on January 25, 2006, and Hamas won a majority of the seats.

The following organizations, listed in alphabetic order, have taken part in recent elections inside the Palestinian National Authority:

• Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (Al-Jabhah al-Dimuqratiyah Li-Tahrir Filastin)
• Fatah or Liberation Movement of Palestine (Harakat al-Tahrâr al-Filistini)
• Hamas or Islamic Resistance Movement (Harakat al-Muqawamah al-Islamiyah)
• Palestine Democratic Union (al-Ittihad al-Dimuqrati al-Filastini, FiDA)
• Palestinian National Initiative (al-Mubadara al-Wataniya al-Filistiniyya)
• Palestinian People's Party (Hizb al-Sha'b al-Filastini)
• Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (Al-Jabhah al-sha'abiyah Li-Tahrir Filastin)

The Liberation Party (Hizb ut-Tahrir) participated in the West Bank, before it was occupied, it currently refuses to do so.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Political parties and elections", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki