Participants in a dialogue workshop on the implications of postponing the Palestinian elections called for pressure Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas to prevent delaying elections.

They considered that postponing the elections violates the constitution and the law, and it is within the jurisdiction of the Central Elections Commission, which confirmed in its recent statement its readiness for any arrangements regarding holding elections in Jerusalem.

Besides, they demanded that elections be imposed in Jerusalem in the context of the battle against the occupation and that Jerusalem should not be used as an excuse to postpone, and if the occupation decided to prevent elections in the city, ballot boxes could be put in the mosques, churches, and institutions.

The workshop, moderated by Khalil Shaheen, Director of Programs at Masarat Center, spoke of Mahmoud Dudin, Professor of Law at Birzeit and Qatar Universities, and Hassan Ayoub, Head of the Political Science Department at An-Najah National University.

Dudin said that postponing the elections is illegal, as the executive authority is not allowed to postpone the elections except on the recommendation of the Central Elections Commission, in which it decides to postpone the elections for an appropriate period due to compelling reasons.

He added, "As the election commission announced that it is capable of holding elections, this process must continue."

Article (115) of the Elections Law dealt with the issue of Jerusalem, as it stipulates the preparation of a register for Palestinian voters in Jerusalem, and that the Election Commission has the right to take any measures and follow any means it deems appropriate to ensure that voters can exercise their right to vote, and this article confirms bypassing The Oslo Agreement, as well as the constitution and the law recognize the end of Oslo.

He pointed out that there are two options for the electoral lists and the people in case a law is issued to postpone the elections, the first is to appeal the decree to the Court of Cassation because the postponement decree is contrary to the constitution of the law, pointing out that he does not encourage this option. The other option is revolutionary and is based on restoring legitimacy through revolution and civil disobedience, since revolutionary legitimacy is parallel to constitutional legitimacy, and a way to restore constitutional legitimacy.

For his part, Ayyoub said that the main reason for postponing the elections is the lack of control over the formation of the electoral lists, especially with the Fatah movement, two lists formed outside the official movement’s list for Mohammad Dahlan and Marwan Barghouti and Nasser Al-Qudwa. Moreover, the insistence of Barghouti to run in the presidential elections, and will lead to the loss of what Fatah has planned in the last years.

He explained that the PA does not have any legitimacy, its credibility has been eroded, and there is no confidence in it, as evidenced by the nomination of 36 lists, and that if elections are held, we will be facing a tremendous change in the political map, a new form of the Legislative Council and an opportunity to form internal alliances."