Local Palestinian Elections Due To Be Delayed

Tuesday May 17, 2011 21:00 by Kevin Murphy - IMEMC and Agencies

The Palestinian Authority has stated it will delay local elections due to be held in July. The elections are now due to be held on the 22nd of October in order to give time to allow for voters to be registered in the Gaza strip.

Elections were initially called by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in February, to be held in July, due to pressure from mass democracy movements around the Middle East. The delay, however, has been expected given the surprise unity government deal in April, which allows for full national elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip for the first time since the election of Hamas in 2006. The elections will come at an important time in the wake of the proposed declaration of statehood by Palestinian delegates to the UN in September.

Current talks in Cairo between Hamas and Fatah, aimed at creating a caretaker government of technocrats to pave the way for parliamentary and presidential elections next year, have been progressing positively according to Hamas and Fatah party sources. They have promised that details of the interim government would be announced soon.

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