Elections Postponed Amid Fear of Hamas Victory

AL-QUDS (KI) — President Mahmoud Abbas announced early Friday that the first Palestinian elections in 15 years will be delayed, citing a dispute with the occupying regime of Israel to call off a vote in which his fractured Fatah party was expected to suffer another embarrassing defeat to Hamas.
Hamas slammed the move as a "coup.” But the indefinite postponement will be quietly welcomed by the Zionist regime and Western countries, which are concerned about Hamas’ growing strength.
Several demonstrations took place in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip just after Abbas postponed the vote.
They waved placards as well as national Palestinian flags and chanted slogans such as "We are looking for a legitimate government” and "The people want the ballot box”.
Abbas insisted elections could not be held without the full participation of Palestinians in East Jerusalem Al-Quds.
"Faced with this difficult situation, we decided to postpone the date of holding legislative elections until the participation of Jerusalem and its people in these elections is guaranteed,” Abbas said. "There will be no concession on Al-Quds and no concession on our people in Jerusalem exercising their democratic rights.”
Delaying the elections over Al-Quds is seen as a pretext, because only a small number of voters in the city would actually require Israel’s permission. Abbas’ rivals had suggested workarounds so as not to give the occupying regime an effective veto over elections.
Hamas had been expected to perform well in the May 22 parliamentary elections because of widening divisions within Fatah, which split into three rival lists. The resistance movement condemned the delay, saying the decision "doesn’t agree with the national consensus and popular support and is a coup.”
Prior to the announcement, Hamas had issued a statement saying the Palestinians should explore ways of "forcing the elections in Al-Quds without the permission of or coordination with the occupation.”
The occupying regime of Israel has not said whether it will allow voting in East Jerusalem Al-Quds but has expressed concern about Hamas’ growing strength. The Zionist regime and Western countries would likely boycott any Palestinian government that includes Hamas.
The Zionist regime occupied East Al-Quds, along with the West Bank and Gaza, in the 1967 war, territories the Palestinians want for their future state. Israel annexed East Al-Quds in a move not recognized internationally, barring the Palestinian Authority from operating there. The Palestinians consider East Al-Quds their capital.
According to interim peace agreements reached in the 1990s — which were rejected by Hamas — some 6,000 Palestinians in East Al-Quds submit their ballots through Israeli post offices. The other 150,000 can vote with or without Israel’s permission.
The elections, and a presidential vote planned for July 31, offered a rare opportunity for the Palestinians to empower a new leadership and potentially chart a different course in their long, stalled struggle for independence.
The 85-year-old Abbas and his inner circle of Fatah figures, now in their 60s and 70s, have dominated the Palestinian Authority for nearly two decades and have made little effort to empower a new generation of leaders.
The last elections, held in 2006 with international support and Israeli cooperation, saw Hamas win a landslide victory after campaigning as a scrappy underdog untainted by corruption.