Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a formal decree to restore the number of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council to 132. This move reverses a legislative change enacted in June that had expanded the parliament to 200 members. The Palestinian Central Elections Commission has confirmed receipt of the new decree, which repeals the previous amendment while incorporating several recommendations from the commission itself.
Despite the reversal, the decree retains several key provisions introduced earlier this summer. These include lowering the minimum age requirement for parliamentary candidates from 28 to 23, establishing a 1 percent electoral threshold, and mandating that women account for at least 33 percent of all candidates on electoral lists. Furthermore, the decree maintains the requirement that all electoral lists must pledge allegiance to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, adhering to its political program and international legitimacy resolutions.
New administrative procedures have also been codified. Electoral lists now have a three-day window to correct or complete their nomination applications before the Elections Commission makes a final decision. The decree clarifies the processes for filing appeals and announcing both preliminary and final election results, while also prohibiting candidates from running for both the presidency and parliament simultaneously. Additionally, the commission is authorized to establish specific voting procedures for illiterate voters and individuals with disabilities, and it is tasked with regulating vote-counting procedures in Gaza, including the verification and secure transfer of results to headquarters.
The Palestinian Central Elections Commission stated that it is proceeding with the scheduled election timetable, with parliamentary voting set for November 28. In-person and online voter registration is slated to begin on August 15 and will last for five days. The Palestinian Legislative Council has remained inactive since 2007, following a deep political split between the Fatah and Hamas movements. Abbas formally dissolved the legislature in 2018, and the last time parliamentary elections were held was in 2006. Since the 2007 divide, Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip while the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority has administered parts of the occupied West Bank.
