Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The presidential elections of the Palestinian Authority has been officially postponed. A new date for the vote will be announced in December. The Electoral Commission called for the cancellation of the 24 January date, the proposal was subsequently accepted by the government. Meanwhile, the PA will have to reach an agreement with Hamas to determine when to call the Palestinians to the polls.
In an interview broadcast on 19 November to the BBC Arabic channel, the current President Mahmoud Abbas (photo) said that despite the postponement of the elections he does not wish to extend his term which expires January 25, and therefore the PA will have to find a temporary solution to fill the power vacuum until the vote.
Abbas reiterated he does not want to run for a new presidential term and that he intends to leave politics. "Maybe the election will be postponed for a year, or perhaps less - said Abbas - but what I'm saying now is that I will not be a candidate."
To avoid further delay the guarantees from the Islamist movement that it will not to boycott the vote in the Gaza Strip is needed. the obstructionism of Hamas is in fact behind the postponement of the elections. It has never accepted the call to elections unilaterally declared by Abbas. The Egyptian government has been working for some time towards an agreement between Fatah and Hamas.
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