The Impossible Condition for Conducting Palestinian Elections

Author: Aouni Al-Mashni

The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization met, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization met without a quorum because the quorum for its meeting requires the presence of the president. The number of absentees or attendees does not matter; what matters is that the president did not participate in the meeting, so the meeting was without a quorum. They made the correct decision that fits a meeting without a quorum; they decided not to decide, so it was a decision that carries the genes of indecision. They decided to hold elections under conditions that make them impossible to conduct, and they threw this hot potato into the arms of the Central Elections Commission, which has no concern in the political aspects related to the conditions for conducting them set by the Executive Committee.

Reading the statement of the Executive Committee only increases your confusion. Between the words lies intentional ambiguity, deliberate confusion, and real fears. You understand at the beginning of the statement that the elections are proceeding on schedule; you read more and understand that the elections will be postponed. You focus more and continue reading, and you get the feeling that they may not be postponed. You rub your eyes, take a deep breath, and continue reading to discover that postponement is the most likely scenario. You finish reading and find yourself turning to fortune-tellers, hoping they might have an answer beyond this statement.

However, reading from those with experience reveals a different matter. The statement left the decision to the one and only decision-maker, which is the president. The committee has no authority other than to decide that it has no decision. Secondly, this formulation is suitable for the timing of its issuance. They are waiting for the registration of lists, and the decisive decision will come in light of the study of these lists. If a miracle occurs and the status of the competing lists indicates their certain success, then the elections will be held on time. However, if the status of the lists indicates the possibility of their failure, Jerusalem will once again become a reason for postponement.

They want elections under the condition of their success. They were postponed in 2021 for not meeting this condition, and it is likely that they will be postponed this time for the same reason, and they will be postponed next time and the time after that for the same reason. It is true that elections are open to all possibilities, and it is also true that there is no guarantee for anyone's success. But the time for miracles has ended, and even if that miracle occurs, their success in the elections requires more than one miracle.