Hamas announces participation in the upcoming Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for November
Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) announced on Wednesday evening its intention to participate in the Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for November next year.
Hassam Badran, head of the movement’s National Relations Office, stated during an interview with Al-Aqsa satellite channel that “Hamas will participate in the Legislative Council elections as part of the broadest possible national coalition. We are working with various Palestinian factions to form an electoral bloc that encompasses a wide spectrum of the Palestinian people.”
Badran added, “We believe that elections are the optimal and most appropriate path to organize Palestinian affairs, and we will not allow any party to re-engineer and reprogram the Palestinian national political system away from the Palestinian popular will and away from Hamas.”
Earlier, on Tuesday, Hamas issued a press statement urging Palestinians to expedite their registration and update their data to participate in the upcoming legislative elections.
The statement read, “In light of national responsibility and in fidelity to the sacrifices of the Palestinian people, and to safeguard their right to choose their representatives and renew their national institutions by their free will, the movement calls on Palestinians to hasten their registration and update their data in the electoral register, ensuring their right to participate in the upcoming Palestinian elections.”
The statement further noted that “registration in the electoral register constitutes the fundamental entry point for exercising the right to choose and participate in shaping national decision-making and electing representatives of our people in official institutions, primarily the Legislative and National Councils, thereby enhancing popular participation and consolidating our people’s will as the source of legitimacy for our national institutions.”
It continued, “The stage the Palestinian cause is currently going through necessitates expanding national participation, strengthening Palestinian unity, and building effective Palestinian institutions that derive their legitimacy from their free will, reflect their aspirations, and safeguard their national rights and interests, free from any suzerainty or interference in their national decision-making.”
Previously, the Palestinian Central Elections Commission announced the legal timelines for the legislative elections, scheduled to be held on November 28 next year, according to a presidential decree issued for this purpose.
In a press statement at the time, the commission said that voter registration centers in the West Bank would open on the morning of Saturday, August 15, 2026, and remain open for five days. It added that the candidacy registration period would open on the morning of Saturday, September 26, 2026, for 12 days, and close on the evening of Wednesday, October 7, 2026.
According to the statement, election campaigning is scheduled to begin on Friday, November 6, 2026, and last for 21 days. Election campaigning will cease, entering the election silence period, on Friday, November 27, 2026.
The statement indicated that early voting for Palestinian security forces would take place on Thursday, November 26, 2026, while general voting would occur on Saturday, November 28, 2026.
It further noted that preliminary election results would be announced within 24 hours of their preparation, while final results would be published within two weeks of the voting date, following the resolution of legal appeals against the results in accordance with the law.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on July 9 last year, setting November 28 next year as the date for the legislative elections, with presidential elections to be held during the first quarter of next year.
The Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) reported at the time that the decree called on the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip to participate in free and direct legislative elections to elect members of the Palestinian Legislative Council by the specified deadline, in accordance with the provisions of Emergency Law No. (1) of 2007 on General Elections and its amendments.
The agency added that the decree aims to consolidate the foundations of democracy and complete the electoral process that began in the State of Palestine, noting that the date for the presidential elections scheduled for the first quarter of next year would be determined in accordance with the law.
Earlier, Abbas had also issued a decree calling on Palestinians inside the homeland and in the diaspora to participate in the Palestinian National Council elections scheduled for November 1, 2026, with the elected members of the Legislative Council becoming ex officio members of the National Council, representing the Palestinian land.
These amendments came after the Palestinian President approved the electoral system for the National Council, based on a decision by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, as part of efforts to complete the democratic path and enhance popular participation in the organization’s institutions.
The last Palestinian legislative elections were held in 2006, while subsequent elections were postponed due to the political split between Fatah and Hamas. /End of news/
