Abbas to alter voting laws to exclude Hamas

Friday July 27, 2007 11:16 by R. P. - International Middle East Media Center

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated on Thursday that he plans to alter voting laws, a move that will make it more difficult for Hamas to win legislative elections.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Abbas, speaking yesterday from his headquarters in Ramallah, said that he would issue decrees amending the existing electoral law so that parliamentary seats are only contested by national party lists. "I will use Article 43 of the Basic Law, which gives me the power to make those changes, to change the electoral law to a single national list instead of having two lists, one national and one by constituencies," Abbas stated.

Under the current law, half of the seats are allocated to parties based on their share of the national vote, and half are allocated to local constituencies. During the last election in January 2006, the Hamas movement narrowly won the national vote, but won twice as many seats as Fatah in constituency contests.

Abbas also reiterated his intention to issue a decree to hold early elections, though he still refuses to give a timeframe for a new vote. He also said that presidential and parliamentary elections must be held concurrently in the West Bank and the Gaza strip. However, Hamas has maintained total control of the Gaza strip since its takeover of the area last month, and its officials have vowed not to implement any call for new elections.

Constitutional experts have questioned the legality of Abbas ruling by decree, maintaining that he needs the approval of parliament to amend the constitution or call early elections. Fatah argues that such actions are necessary as parliament has ceased to function, due to Israel's imprisonment of about half of the Hamas legislators and boycotts by rival parties.

Abbas again stated his refusal to negotiate or even speak with Hamas. "I will not meet with any of Hamas's leaders before they retract every step of the coup they carried out. They must change what they did in Gaza and apologize to the Palestinian people. Only after that will we might talk."

Abbas also stated his hopes of finalizing a comprehensive peace deal before the end of US President George W. Bush's term in January 2009. Abbas reported that the US was "determined to push the parties into reaching an agreement during President Bush's current term," adding that he had heard this in person himself from both Bush and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

palestine | palestinian politics | news report