Palestinian leadership postpones legislative elections set for November 28

Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh told France that the legislative elections set for November 28 will be delayed for months amid deteriorating conditions.

• Hussein al-Sheikh informed French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in an October 8 letter that the November 28 elections would be postponed for several months.
• The letter said the political, security, and economic conditions on which the election date was based had not materialized.
• The letter said holding the vote under current conditions faces substantial obstacles to participation, freedom, and electoral integrity.
• The elections, set by President Mahmoud Abbas, would have been the first Palestinian legislative vote since 2006; no new date was set.
• A Palestinian source told Sky News Arabia that President Mahmoud Abbas will issue a decree postponing the elections after a meeting of the executive committee.
• The vote will be held no later than mid-next year, with presidential and legislative elections held simultaneously.
• The new date will be determined during a national dialogue expected to begin in Cairo in the coming days.