Candidacy period for Palestine legislative elections extended to 18 days

Abbas extends candidacy period for Palestine legislative elections to 18 days

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas extended the application period for candidacies in the legislative elections planned for November 28 from 12 to 18 days. The number of groups applying as electoral lists has risen to seven, while the applications have not yet been approved.

Scraper SystemSeptember 28, 2026, 12:50 PM

Abbas extends candidacy period for Palestine legislative elections to 18 days

The period for submitting candidacy applications ahead of the legislative elections planned in Palestine for November 28 has been extended to 18 days. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas enacted the change through a decree amending the 2007 General Elections Law.

The amendment aims to give candidates additional time to complete their applications in light of the security and political conditions in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as Israel’s military and administrative restrictions on movement.

Seven electoral lists apply

The Palestinian Central Elections Commission announced that the number of lists applying for registration had reached seven after candidacy applications opened. Phoenix, the Future Palestine Coalition, Justice and Construction, Unity and Democratic Change, Mustafa Barghouti and Independents’ Palestinian National Initiative, New Path and the Workers’ lists were among the groups that applied.

The commission said that an electoral list’s submission of an application did not mean it had been approved. Applications will be reviewed for compliance with legal requirements and the required forms and documents, and the results will be communicated to candidates within three days of submission.

Lists to contest 132-seat council

Candidates for the 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council will compete through electoral lists rather than individually. Lists must contain at least 16 and no more than 132 candidates and must meet the legal minimum requirements for women’s representation.

Under a presidential decree issued in August, each list must include at least one woman among its first three candidates. The requirement to include at least one woman among every subsequent group of four candidates will also apply.

November dates set in election calendar

According to the election calendar, campaigns are scheduled to begin on November 6, while early voting for security personnel is planned for November 26. Abbas set the election date in a decree issued on July 9.

If held, the elections will be the first Palestinian legislative elections since 2006. The Palestinian Legislative Council will thus go to the polls for the third time, following the 1996 and 2006 elections.

The council’s work has been suspended since the Palestinian political division that began in 2007. In 2018, the Palestinian Constitutional Court ruled to dissolve the council. Legislative and presidential elections planned for 2021 were postponed because there was no guarantee that Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem would be able to vote.

Abbas extends candidacy period for Palestine legislative elections to 18 days