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.
