Brussels welcomes elections in Palestine and calls for “fair” procedure

Sin a message on the social media after having a telephone conversation with the Palestinian Vice-President, Hussein al-Sheikh, however, called for a “fair, credible and inclusive” electoral process to be ensured that will help strengthen Palestinian institutions.

“ Elections will be an important democratic moment. Ensuring a fair, credible and inclusive electoral process is essential to strengthen Palestinian institutions,” he said.

During the conversation, the Commissioner reiterated the European Union’s “continuous support” to the Palestinian people and encouraged the Palestinian Authority to achieve “greater progress” in its reform agenda.

Suica also addressed the need to move forward in the recovery of Gaza, as well as the work that the EU Group of Donors for Palestine will be presenting to the UN General Assembly next week.

The legislative elections are convened on 28 November in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the Gaza Strip, according to the decree adopted in July by Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

The Palestinian Central Electoral Commission is continuing preparations for the elections, following numerous postponements and aimed at electing representatives who will be the next Palestinian Legislative Council.

On August 12, Hamas announced its intention to participate in Palestinian legislation, which, if it does, will be the first of its kind in two decades.

“Hamas will participate in the elections within the widest possible national coalition,” said Husam Badran, head of the Palestinian Islamist National Relations Office, in an interview with Al Aqsa station, quoted by the Europa Press agency.

Badran indicated that the movement is “cooperating with various Palestinian factions to form an electoral bloc covering a broad spectrum of the Palestinian people”.

“A month ago, we began to hold meetings and maintain a constant communication with various factions from across the Palestinian spectrum, with the aim of forming the largest possible national electoral bloc, united by a mutually agreed political platform,” he said.

The leader of the Gaza Strip movement refused to mention any ‘red lines’ for the implementation of these agreements, arguing that Hamas rejects ‘the principle of imposing conditions’.

Despite this, Badran emphasized that the aim of this broad coalition is to form a Legislative Council (the Palestinian Parliament established after the 1993 Oslo Agreements) which “represents a national basis, believes in participation and considers the needs of the Palestinian people”.

Palestine held elections on 25 April for local council positions. In Gaza, the vote took place in Deir al-Bala (central region), marking the first election in more than two decades in the enclave, where a fragile ceasefire has been in place since October 2025, after more than two years of Israeli offensive.

The last legislative elections in the enclave took place in 2006 and resulted in the victory of the Change and Reform list, composed of Hamas candidates, both in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The situation led Israel and the United States to reject the results, a position supported by the Palestinian Authority, which subsequently resulted in an administrative and territorial division after an internal conflict.

Since then, no elections have been held in Gaza, while local elections took place in the West Bank in 2012, 2017 and 2022.