No Presidential Elections

The electoral system of the Palestinian National Council implicitly abolished the idea of holding presidential elections, effectively nullifying the right of Palestinian citizens to directly choose their state president; this is a blatant violation of the amended Basic Law and the Law No. 1 of 2007 regarding general elections and its amendments, as well as the provisions of the draft interim constitution of the State of Palestine currently under discussion. Furthermore, this decision contradicts the commitments made by the State of Palestine to both the French President and the Saudi Crown Prince last year to conduct presidential and legislative elections within a year, as well as the reform program presented to donor countries, in addition to the commitments expressed by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his speeches before the Palestinian people and the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025 and the leaders of states attending the international conference to implement the two-state solution option.

In practice, the decision of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which approved this electoral system, has effectively killed the accumulated efforts to establish the internationally recognized State of Palestine; this decision seemingly sent a contradictory signal to the Palestinian people and the world about the good intentions of those in charge of the Palestinian political system to complete their reform program and to respect their commitments and promises documented with multiple international entities.

Moreover, this decision "the electoral system of the Palestinian National Council" also refutes the official narrative over the past twenty years based on the legitimacy of the president elected by the Palestinian people in free and fair elections versus the abolition and dissolution of the Legislative Council, given that an entire generation has seen only the presidential power to execute and legislate.

In my opinion, the uncoordinated efforts between the presidential committees "the Constitution Drafting Committee and the Preparatory Committee for the National Council Elections," formed last year, in which some members participate, led to contradictory objectives; whether to reinforce the state or elevate the organization, and conflicting texts; directly electing the president from the Palestinian people and enhancing his status in the political system in the draft constitution, versus abolishing the direct election of the president by the Palestinian people in the electoral system of the Palestinian National Council. Additionally, the tendencies to deceive the people by resurrecting outdated constitutional and legal texts from the 1960s and 1970s of some Arab regimes cannot produce a constitutional framework for the institutions of a state or legitimacy for its actions that would circumvent its citizens or their will.

The decision of the Executive Committee stated; no to directly electing the Palestinian president by the Palestinian people, and yes to entrenching traditions of "factional consensus" that have become obsolete, and elevating the position of the means "the Palestine Liberation Organization" over the goal "the state", sending a message to the international community indicating that Palestinians are renouncing their commitments.