Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has issued a decree amending the General Elections Law, which includes raising the number of members of the Legislative Council from 132 to 200, lowering the age of candidacy from 28 to 23, and requiring at least one woman among every three candidates, as part of preparations for the upcoming legislative and national elections.

The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that President Abbas issued a decree amending Law No. 1 of 2007 on general elections and its amendments, "within the framework of enhancing political participation and expanding the base of democratic representation."

The new decision stipulated an increase in the number of members of the Palestinian Legislative Council from 132 to 200 members, a reduction in the percentage of the threshold needed to win seats from 2 percent to 1 percent, and an increase in the minimum number of candidates on each electoral list to 20 candidates instead of 16.

It also included enhancing women's representation on electoral lists by "requiring at least one woman among every three candidates," and lowering the age of candidacy for legislative council elections to 23 instead of 28 "to allow for greater participation of youth in the democratic process and elected institutions."

The Palestinian president is scheduled to issue a decree calling for PLC elections in conjunction with the Palestinian National Council elections.

Palestinian forces reject Abbas' amendments

The amendments were widely rejected and criticized by resistance factions and political and democratic forces in Gaza and the West Bank, as the Palestinian opposition considered that these amendments aimed at excluding certain forces and consolidating the hegemony of one party, referring to Fatah, over the institutions of the PLO and the Palestinian Authority.

Hamas and the resistance factions in Gaza focused their criticism on the clause that obliges lists and candidates to submit a written declaration of commitment to the PLO program and the resolutions of international legitimacy, considering that this condition is designed to exclude them and the Islamic Jihad movement because of their refusal to recognize Israel and their adherence to the option of armed resistance.

The movement stressed that any renewal of the political system must take place through a comprehensive national consensus and a unified national council, not through unilateral decrees that deepen the division and confiscate the right of Palestinians to freely choose their representatives.

The Democratic Forces and the leftist factions called for the immediate withdrawal of the decision, considering that it constitutes a retreat from previous national understandings, considering that imposing political preconditions on candidacy violates the civil and political rights guaranteed by the Basic Law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and turns the electoral process into a formality that lacks real competition.

Civil society organizations and human rights organizations in the West Bank and Gaza also expressed concern that these amendments would lead to the production of a monochromatic political scene, warning that the new conditions have already prompted a broad boycott of major factions, which threatens to repeat the scenario of the recent local elections, in which party competition was absent and in which endorsements and tribalism were present at the expense of political pluralism.

Abbas calls for elections in November

Abbas issued a decree calling on Palestinians inside and outside the country to participate in the Palestinian National Council elections scheduled for November 1, 2026, provided that the winners of the PLC membership become ruling members of the PNC representing the nation.

The PLO's statute stipulates that the PLO's National Council is the PLO's supreme authority, which sets the organization's policy, plans and programs, and on Thursday, the Palestinian president announced that presidential elections will be held during 2027.

On June 4, Abbas approved the electoral system of the Palestinian National Council, based on the approval of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), in a step aimed at completing the democratic process and enhancing popular participation in the organization's institutions, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

The Palestinian arena has been politically and geographically divided since 2007, with Hamas and its government controlling the Gaza Strip, while a Fatah government headed by President Abbas is managing the affairs of the occupied West Bank.

150 seats for Palestinians in the Diaspora

According to the new electoral system for 2026, the Preparatory Committee for Elections relies on the population density of Palestinians in the diaspora based on the population density of Palestinians in each country, with priority given to what is known as the Arab Circle countries, which include the historic camps.

The distribution of seats in the Arab arenas is estimated at about 105 seats, including Jordan (45 seats), Syria (25), Lebanon (20), in addition to 15 seats distributed among the communities in the Gulf and Egypt. The Western Arena includes about 45 seats, distributed among Latin America (20 seats), North America (15), Europe (8), Australia and the rest of the world (two seats).

The elections are scheduled to be held on November 1, 2026, amid arrangements that include the adoption of electoral lists abroad according to specific legal conditions, and the distribution of seats to reflect the size of the Palestinian communities and their global spread.