PLO moves forward with plans to restructure of the Palestinian National Council ahead of elections

The PLO is moving forward with plans to restructure its legislative body, the Palestinian National Council (PNC) ahead of Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections scheduled for November 28, according to Palestinian reports.

The plans, ratified in June after being announced by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last year, will expand the use of elections to select PNC members, partially replacing the previous system of factional quotas, allocations and special appointments.

The new system will also more than halve the number of PNC members, from 747 to 350, including 132 PLC members representing the Palestinian territories, 150 members from the Palestinian diaspora, and 67 members selected by consensus to represent PLO factions.

Last week, Kuwait’s Palestinian community elected the first two PNC members from abroad, Hisham Ibrahim and Saleh Qannam. Shortly afterward, Dr. Tamer Kadash was elected to represent the Palestinian community in Bahrain, while Muhannad Al-Shorbaji Al-Agha and Imad Al-Bal‘awi were elected to represent Palestinians in Qatar.

Efforts are underway to hold similar elections under an electoral college system in Lebanon and Syria, according to Arab reports. Independent Arabia reported that Palestinians in Europe, the United States and South America have formed preparatory committees to reach consensus on the selection of future PNC members, with one seat allocated for every 35,000 Palestinians, according to Independent Arabia.

Palestinians in Jordan are not currently slated to participate in direct PNC elections.

Abbas pushes new system as a win for Palestinian democracy

Though Abbas has pushed the new system as a win for Palestinian democracy, Palestinian officials from other camps have strongly criticized forming a council without including Hamas.

Ramzi Rabah, a member of the PLO Executive Committee representing the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), told Independent Arabia that the council “can be formed through consensus among everyone following a national dialogue that opens the door to everyone joining, including Hamas, which does not require postponing [the elections] for two years. It can happen within a month.”

Rabah called on Abbas to invite the secretaries-general of the factions “to an expanded meeting to establish mechanisms for forming the National Council and mechanisms for holding elections in an atmosphere of understanding.”

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights also released a statement last week raising concerns that the new process allows the adoption of different electoral arrangements, “including the use of electoral colleges or selection mechanisms that do not necessarily allow all Palestinians within those communities to participate.”

ICSPR also condemned the exclusion of “Palestinian political forces and figures.”

Despite ICSPR’s critique, Hamas has indicated that it is seeking to participate in the PLC and PNC elections as part of a broader national coalition rather than running under its own name.

However, candidates are required to recognize the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and commit to its political and national program and relevant international legitimacy resolutions, a term that has also generated criticism of the new system.

According to information published by the Amit Terrorism and Intelligence Research Institute, Hamas’s officials have already been actively screening for potential alliances.

Broadening participation in Palestinian elections

Husam Badran, a member of the Hamas political bureau and head of the national relations office, spoke by telephone with Salem Atallah, secretary general of the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, earlier this month regarding the elections and also spoke with Hassan Mahmoud Abu Halima, secretary general of the Palestinian al-Ahrar Movement, about the need to broaden the participation of Palestinian “organizations, forces and figures” in the elections and oppose the appointment of representatives.

Badran also complained to Independent Arabia that continuing with “the same approach of exclusivity and disregarding the right of the Palestinian people to choose their representatives is a national crime and a confiscation of the right of the Palestinian communities present in every country.”

Given the lack of consensus, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine have reportedly urged Abbas to postpone the PLC elections, an option that some experts and Palestinian officials have suggested he may be inclined to pursue out of concern that the vote could allow Hamas to gain greater control in the West Bank.

The PFLP submitted last Monday the “National Rescue Plan,” which proposed postponing the November 28 elections, launching comprehensive national dialogue, forming a consensus government, rebuilding the PLO and then holding presidential, legislative and National Council elections together.