Once Again, an Aborted Palestinian Election

Only seven hours remained until the deadline to submit electoral lists to the Central Elections Commission on June 10 when the Palestinian Authority (PA) called off the local council elections scheduled to take place this July. The PA justified its decision by claiming that such elections could derail a possible reconciliation with Hamas. It is clear, however, that the continuing travails of the beleaguered Fatah movement were behind the decision.

The Fatah movement is still being torn apart from within, as has been evident since 2006, even after holding a long-anticipated party congress in August 2009 that was to have resolved its internal divisions. Furthermore, Fatah has been unable to distinguish itself from the PA, which is struggling to address its vanishing claim to legitimacy in the face of a deadlocked negotiating process between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, the expiration of President Mahmoud Abbas’ constitutional term in January 2010, and a number of financial and ethical scandals surrounding PA officials.