Cairo: I wrote the following comment in response to a friend who argued that the Palestinian National Council elections scheduled for November 1 are an opportunity. I explained why I believe they are more of a trap than an opportunity, unless they take place within a completely different political framework from the one currently being prepared. I hope you find these thoughts worthwhile.
I struggle to understand how anyone who believes in the importance of democracy and elections as a means of expressing political pluralism, competition, and the will of the people, and who also believes that Palestine remains in a phase of national liberation, with its central mission being to end the occupation and stop efforts aimed at eliminating the Palestinian cause, can view the proposed National Council elections as a genuine opportunity.
How can these elections be considered an opportunity when they will take place under an occupation that controls virtually every aspect of Palestinian life? Israel has effectively dismantled the Oslo framework without formally declaring it dead, thereby avoiding responsibility for its collapse while continuing to hold Palestinians to its obligations. Moreover:
First, all candidates and participants are required to accept a political condition for participation: adherence to the PLO's program, its commitments, and the framework of international legitimacy, even though these have led to outcomes that are the opposite of what Palestinians hoped to achieve.
Second, the Elections Commission of the Palestinian Authority will oversee the elections of the PLO, even though the PLO is supposed to be the higher authority and the source of legitimacy for the Authority itself.
Third, there is a looming risk of appointments rather than elections. At least 150 members of the National Council, most or all of the seats allocated to Palestinians abroad, may end up being appointed.
Fourth, there will likely be various and creative forms of electoral manipulation, similar to what occurred at Fatah's last conference. This risk is heightened by the absence of major political forces such as Hamas, which may boycott the process because of the exclusionary political conditions and therefore will not be present to provide meaningful internal oversight.
Fifth, if there were genuine intent to hold elections for Palestinians living abroad, preparations should have begun long ago. A voter registry should already be in place, discussions should have been held with countries hosting Palestinian communities, and arrangements should have been made to allow Palestinians residing in Jordan, around one million people of voting age who do not hold Jordanian citizenship, to participate.
Sixth, how can these elections be considered an opportunity when they are taking place amid a deepening political division, widespread rhetoric of exclusion, accusations of treason and unbelief, and a view of elections as a tool for defeating internal rivals rather than as a mechanism for democratic competition within a framework of national unity? For political forces that still see themselves as part of the national movement, unity is a necessity, not merely an option. Yet there is no shared national project and no inclusive national institution capable of bringing everyone together.
Seventh, the elections are taking place while the separation between the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, and Palestinian citizens inside Israel continues to grow. The latter group is essentially absent from the National Council electoral process, despite the need to find a reasonable formula that ensures some form of participation without undermining their position.
Eighth, these elections are being organized while Gaza remains in catastrophic conditions, and while the West Bank is also suffering, albeit to a lesser degree. In such circumstances, the priority should be strengthening people's ability to remain on their land, ensuring basic security and a dignified life, and confronting efforts to eliminate the Palestinian cause through genocide, apartheid, annexation, settlement expansion, military aggression, and forced displacement. It should also mean resisting attempts to impose external guardianship and alternative political arrangements, such as proposals for a so-called "Peace Council," and protecting the PLO's role as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.
Ninth, the occupation will intervene at every stage of the electoral process. If it dislikes the results, it can arrest dozens of elected representatives, as it has done before. This could effectively nullify the outcome, paralyze the elected council, and potentially cause its collapse, or even lead to its dissolution by the Palestinian Authority, as happened with the Legislative Council.
Those who chose to bypass municipal elections and move directly to National Council elections, while excluding presidential and legislative elections, which are both more important and more feasible because they are explicitly covered by agreements between the PLO and Israel, know exactly what they are doing. Either they do not genuinely want elections, or they only want elections if the results are guaranteed in advance. In that case, the process would merely produce a distorted form of legitimacy that reinforces the current dysfunctional status quo. And if there is any sign that the results may not go as planned, the elections will likely be canceled, as happened in 2021, or postponed indefinitely.
None of this means accepting the status quo. Neither participating in elections that lack the basic conditions of freedom, fairness, and respect for the results, and that are designed to manufacture a flawed legitimacy while preserving an authority that manages the population under occupation rather than serving as an instrument of liberation; nor boycotting the elections in a way that simply makes it easier and faster for the president to achieve his desired outcome.
There is still time for urgent action on several fronts. This includes strengthening the foundations of Palestinian resilience and ensuring that people can remain on their land while keeping their cause alive. It also means developing a national rescue plan involving a broad spectrum of political actors, institutions, and public figures, especially those most committed to the Palestinian cause, the interests of the people, and the importance of consensual democracy during a national liberation struggle.
Such a plan should clearly define the conditions and requirements for free and fair elections whose results will be respected. It should insist on these conditions and work to build the broadest possible coalition in support of them. The goal would be not only to secure genuinely free elections at the appropriate time, but also to make them part of a broader process of national renewal and change, one that begins here and continues until the comprehensive transformation that Palestinians seek is achieved.