Elections in Palestine after 15 years are going to be a mere formality

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has announced that elections will be held in Palestine this year. In 2005, Mahmoud Abbas was elected president for four years. However, he remained the president of Palestine for 15 years. Elections have been promised more than once before but none of them have been implemented. At the same time, the authoritarianism of the Palestinian Authority has increased. Therefore, there are doubts about the implementation of the announcement that the election will be held again. The Palestinian Authority was never interested in the practice of democracy. The question is, why did Abbas have to announce the election now?

Under former US President Donald Trump, the country has cut off funding to the Palestinian Authority. Joe Biden then defeated Trump in the November 3 presidential election. Since then, the Palestinian Authority has once again risen to the positive side of the United States. Clearly, the sudden announcement of elections in Palestine is part of that effort. However, trying to impress the Biden administration is not the only purpose of the move. Multiple domestic and international issues are at work behind this.

However, as far as we know, the legislative elections have been announced on May 22 and the presidential election on July 31. Although this date is likely to change. Maybe Hamas or Israel is to blame. Also, there is a big hurdle with Jerusalem. Earlier, Abbas and other Palestinian officials said they would not call an election until Palestinians in Jerusalem could vote. But that is unlikely to happen as the Israeli government allows Palestinians in Jerusalem to vote. To do so would be to legally recognize the Palestinians in Jerusalem as Palestinians. At the same time, Israel's claim to the whole of Jerusalem will be threatened. Why can Israel take this risk? So it could be that the Israeli authorities will threaten to stop the Palestinians from voting.

With the exception of Jerusalem, analysts are skeptical about whether the election will be free and fair. Public support for Hamas in Gaza and Fatah in the West Bank is declining. They don’t have any popular issues to show people. It is impossible for them to control these areas without authoritarianism and corruption. Again in both places there is no chance that anyone will challenge them. Political opponents have been silenced. Authorities regularly arrest journalists and rights activists. As soon as questions are raised about their corruption and authoritarianism, torture comes down. All in all, a one-party system is in place in both parts of Palestine, and Palestinians are gradually being forced out of politics.

In such a situation, an election in Palestine is just a formality. It goes without saying that the practice of democracy is not likely to be sustained through this. In addition to democracies, many dictatorships around the world regularly hold elections. In the case of Palestine, such a nominal election will not bring much. In a system where there is no opportunity to practice democracy and build democratic leadership, it is not possible to establish a people's government through elections alone.