The Impossible Condition for Holding Palestinian Elections

Author: Aouni Al-Mashni

The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization met, the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization met without a quorum because the quorum for its meeting requires the presence of the president. The number of absentees or attendees does not matter; what matters is that the president did not participate in the meeting, so the meeting was without a quorum. They made the correct decision that corresponds to a meeting without a quorum; they decided not to decide. It was a decision that carried the genes of indecision. They decided to hold elections under conditions that would make them not take place, and they threw this hot potato into the lap of the Central Elections Committee, which has no concern in the political aspect related to the conditions for conducting them set by the Executive Committee.

When you read the statement of the Executive Committee, the ambiguity increases, with intended ambiguity between the words, deliberate confusion, and real fears. You understand at the beginning of the statement that the elections are proceeding on schedule, but as you read more, you understand that the elections will be postponed. You focus more and continue reading, and you get the feeling that they may not be postponed. You rub your eyes, take a deep breath, and continue reading to discover that postponement is the most likely scenario. You finish reading, and you find yourself turning to astrology experts, hoping they might have an answer beyond this statement.

But with the reading of those with experience, the matter is different. The statement left the decision to the sole decision-maker, which is the president. The committee has no authority except to decide that it has no decision. Secondly, this formulation is suitable for the timing of its issuance. They are waiting for the registration of the lists, and the decisive decision will come in light of the study of these lists. If a miracle occurs and the status of the competing lists indicates their certain success, the elections will take place on time. However, if the status of the lists suggests the possibility of their failure, Jerusalem will become a reason for postponement again.

They want elections conditioned on their success. They were postponed in 2021 for not meeting this condition, and it is likely that they will be postponed this time for the same reason, and they will be postponed next time and the time after that for the same reason. It is true that elections are open to all possibilities, and it is also true that there is no guarantee for anyone's success. But the time for miracles has ended, and even if that miracle occurs, their success in the elections requires more than one miracle.