How Palestinian Elections Work—and Why They Stall

A Democracy Born From Oslo

The Palestinian Authority (PA) was created through the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, the landmark agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that established limited Palestinian self-governance in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under this framework, Palestinians gained the right to elect both a president and a legislature — a rare experiment in democratic governance in the Middle East.

The first Palestinian presidential and legislative elections were held in January 1996, with Yasser Arafat winning the presidency and his Fatah faction dominating the 88-seat Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). For a brief window, the system functioned. Then it ground to a halt.

Three Types of Elections

The Palestinian electoral system encompasses three levels:

• Presidential elections: The president is elected by direct popular vote across the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. A candidate must win more than 50% of the vote; otherwise a runoff is held between the top two.
• Legislative elections: The PLC was expanded to 132 seats before the 2006 election. Under a reformed system, all seats are filled through proportional representation using the Sainte-Laguë method, with the entire Palestinian territories treated as a single district.
• Local (municipal) elections: City and village councils are elected on a rolling basis across governorates, typically the least contentious level of Palestinian democracy.

The Central Elections Commission (CEC), an independent body established in 2002, oversees voter registration, candidate lists, and polling logistics.

The 2006 Shock — and the Freeze That Followed

Everything changed with the January 2006 legislative elections. Hamas, the Islamist movement that rejects the Oslo framework, won a stunning majority — 74 of 132 seats — defeating Fatah decisively. The result triggered an international boycott of the new Hamas-led government and a power struggle between the two factions.

By June 2007, the rivalry escalated into armed conflict. Hamas seized full control of Gaza, while Fatah retained authority in the West Bank. The Palestinian territories split into two separate political entities — and national elections became impossible. President Mahmoud Abbas, elected in 2005, has remained in office without a new mandate ever since.

Why Elections Keep Getting Postponed

Several structural obstacles have prevented national polls from taking place:

• The Jerusalem question: Palestinian leaders insist that residents of East Jerusalem must be allowed to vote, since they claim it as their future capital. Israel has historically restricted or blocked Palestinian voting in the city, giving PA leaders a justification — or pretext — to cancel elections.
• The Fatah-Hamas split: Without agreement between the two factions on power-sharing, candidate lists, and mutual recognition of results, holding unified elections across the West Bank and Gaza remains logistically and politically unworkable.
• Fear of losing: As Carnegie Endowment analysts have noted, Abbas and Fatah have repeatedly worried that elections could hand Hamas another victory — or expose deep internal Fatah divisions.
• Regional pressure: Neighboring states, particularly Egypt and Jordan, have at times discouraged elections, fearing a Hamas electoral win could destabilize the region.

Local Votes — a Narrow Exception

While presidential and legislative elections remain frozen, local municipal elections have occasionally taken place. These lower-stakes contests allow the PA to demonstrate democratic legitimacy without risking a national power shift. In recent rounds, many municipalities have seen only a single candidate list, meaning councils are filled without a contested vote.

Hamas has typically boycotted or been excluded from local elections in the West Bank, while the PA had no ability to organize polls in Hamas-controlled Gaza — until the most recent rounds began cautiously extending into parts of the territory.

What Would It Take to Hold Real Elections?

Experts broadly agree on the prerequisites: a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement, Israeli consent for East Jerusalem voting, international monitoring, and a willingness by whoever loses to accept the results. None of these conditions has been met simultaneously in two decades.

The Palestinian Authority hasn't held a presidential election in over 20 years. For millions of Palestinians, the democratic promise embedded in the Oslo Accords remains largely unfulfilled — a system designed for a transitional period that has become, in practice, permanent.