![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Presidential election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 88 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council 45 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. |
![]() |
---|
Officeholders whose status is disputed are shown in italics |
|
![]() |
General elections were held for the first time in the Palestinian territories on 20 January 1996 to elect the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the legislative arm of the PNA. They took place in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. A new government was formed following the elections, headed by President Yasser Arafat.
There were no real strong conventional political parties in place before the election. The results were dominated by Fatah, the strongest movement within the Palestine Liberation Organization, which was headed by Yasser Arafat. The Islamist Hamas, Fatah's main rival, refused to participate in the election; they felt that doing so would lend legitimacy to the PNA, which was created out of what they called unacceptable negotiations and compromises with Israel. Independent international observers reported the elections to have been free and fair; however, boycotts by Hamas and opposition movements limited voter choices.
Date | Pollster | Sample size | Arafat Fatah | Ahmed Yassin Hamas | George Habash PFLP | Haidar Abdel-Shafi | Faisal Husseni | Hanan Ashrawi | Nabil Shaath Fatah | Mahmoud al-Zahar Hamas | Others | No opinion | Against all |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 - 21 January 1996 | JMCC | 1,199 | 41% | 3.2% | 0.9% | 7.2% | 1.3% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 13.2% | 16.8% | 11.4% |
6 - 7 October 1995 | JMCC | 1,318 | 36.8% | 5.5% | 3.4% | 4.6% | 2.1% | 2.4% | 0.9% | 0.2% | 10.3% | 17.7% | 16.1% |
Date | Pollster | Sample size | Fatah | Hamas | PFLP | Islamic Jihad Movement | PPP | FIDA | DFLP | PLO | Other Islamic parties | Others | No opinion | Against all |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 - 21 January 1996 | JMCC | 1,199 | 38.9% | 12.3% | 2.3% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 0.9% | 0.6% | - | 1.9% | 1% | 21.8% | 17.1% |
6 - 7 October 1995 | JMCC | 1,318 | 41.3% | 10.7% | 3.6% | 2.4% | 1% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.9% | - | 17.8% | 20.9% |
Despite considerable Israeli obstruction, [1] the PCBS was able to arrange the necessary voter registration. Obstructions included long delays in providing maps and necessary information, and insistence on Hebrew-only documents; in Gaza, six tons of voter registration cards were held up at the Erez crossing, and eventually they had to be "passed by hand over the concrete barriers that surround the checkpoint".
The president was elected by a simple popular vote. The results of the election were considered a foregone conclusion by most observers, due to Arafat's longtime dominance of the Palestinian political scene (he had been PNA president since its creation and head of the PLO for decades before that) and the high regard he was held in by most Palestinians. His only opponent, female politician Samiha Khalil, was largely considered a prop. [2] Arafat won the election with 88.2 percent of the vote to Khalil's 11.5 percent. [3]
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yasser Arafat | Fatah | 643,079 | 89.82 | |
Samiha Khalil | Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine | 72,887 | 10.18 | |
Total | 715,966 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 715,966 | 97.17 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 20,859 | 2.83 | ||
Total votes | 736,825 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 1,028,280 | 71.66 | ||
Source: JMCC |
The legislative election saw 88 PLC members elected from multi-member constituencies, with the number of representatives from each constituency determined by population. 51 seats were allocated to the West Bank and 37 to the Gaza Strip. Some seats were set aside for the Christian and Samaritan communities. Of the 25 female candidates, five won seats; Hanan Ashrawi, Dalal Salameh, Jamila Saidam, Rawya Shawa and Intissar al-Wazir.
Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fatah | 1,085,593 | 30.90 | 50 | |
Palestinian People's Party | 102,830 | 2.93 | 0 | |
National Democratic Coalition | 79,058 | 2.25 | 1 | |
Palestinian Democratic Union | 71,672 | 2.04 | 1 | |
Liberty & Independence Bloc | 57,516 | 1.64 | 1 | |
Palestinian Popular Struggle Front | 26,034 | 0.74 | 0 | |
Arab Liberation Front | 22,810 | 0.65 | 0 | |
Islamic Struggle Movement | 12,285 | 0.35 | 0 | |
Islamic Jihad Movement | 8,391 | 0.24 | 0 | |
National Democratic Movement | 6,831 | 0.19 | 0 | |
Future Bloc | 6,584 | 0.19 | 0 | |
Palestinian Liberation Front | 3,919 | 0.11 | 0 | |
National Movement for Change | 2,658 | 0.08 | 0 | |
Palestinian National Coalition | 2,635 | 0.08 | 0 | |
Ba'ath Party | 2,230 | 0.06 | 0 | |
Progressive National Bloc | 1,707 | 0.05 | 0 | |
Independents | 2,020,213 | 57.51 | 35 | |
Total | 3,512,966 | 100.00 | 88 | |
Registered voters/turnout | 1,028,280 | – | ||
Source: JMCC |
Elections in the OPT are held to exercise the Palestinian right to self-determination in connection with their right to establish their own state, but are held within the context of the Israeli occupation. [4] They are held in the framework of the Oslo Accords, meaning that the power of the PNA was (and is) limited to matters such as culture, education, ID cards and the distribution of the land and water.
A controversial claim has been made, that changes of the political reality, including elections and the formation of new political entities under occupation are, like the Oslo Accords themselves, contrary to the Geneva Conventions and thus illegal. This argument is generally not accepted, as the Accords were meant as a temporary stepping stone to Palestinian self-determination. [5] Some view elections in the Palestinian Territories as little more than symbolic, given the limited power they grant.
Political freedom is limited in the Palestinian Territories; checkpoints and separation walls are already fit to hinder all social activities. The parliament cannot function, merely because free travel is not possible, especially between Gaza and West Bank. In addition to this, hostilities between Fatah and Hamas hinder the correct functioning of the parliament.
Moreover, PNA and parliament do not represent the Palestinian diaspora (to which the PLO is entitled).
A poll conducted on 19 April 1994 by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research with 2006 respondents found the majority of Palestinians (79%) supported the right of women to vote (86% of women and 76% of men). 63% (71% of women and 59% of men) showed a willingness to vote for a female candidate who was competent, while 21% (24% of men and 16% of women) indicated they would not vote for a woman because "a man is probably more qualified" and 11% (13% of men and 7% of women) said they did not support women running for elections. [6] [7] : 31 Prior to the elections there were discussions of establishing a 30 percent electoral quota to ensure female representation, similar to the quota for Christians, though no quota was put in place. According to one poll 50% of the Palestinian public favored a quota for women. [7] : 32
Of the 550 candidates, 28 (5%) were women. Five women were elected to the council (6% of 88 seats), two from the West Bank and three from Gaza. These were Hanan Ashrawi (Jerusalem, independent), Dalal Salameh (Nablus, Fatah), journalist Rawya Shawa (Gaza, independent), Jamila Saidam (Khan Younis, Fatah), and Intissar al-Wazir. A sixth candidate, Zahira Kamal (Jerusalem, Fida), lost by 104 votes out of 32,316 cast in the Jerusalem constituency. [7]
The 1996 elections took place in a moment of optimism in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process; many Palestinians believed that the government they were electing would be the first of an independent Palestinian state. In the ensuing months and years however, Israelis and Palestinians failed to resolve their differences and come to a final status agreement; an upswing in violence meant that the Israeli–Palestinian conflict would continue. As a result of this instability, new elections were not held until nearly a decade later.
Fatah, formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist and social democratic political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the second-largest party in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, is the chairman of Fatah.
The Palestinian National Authority, commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine, is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over West Bank areas "A" and "B" as a consequence of the 1993–1995 Oslo Accords. The Palestinian Authority controlled the Gaza Strip prior to the Palestinian elections of 2006 and the subsequent Gaza conflict between the Fatah and Hamas parties, when it lost control to Hamas; the PA continues to claim the Gaza Strip, although Hamas exercises de facto control. Since January 2013, the Palestinian Authority has used the name "State of Palestine" on official documents, although the United Nations continues to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the "representative of the Palestinian people".
Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian political leader. He was Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) from 1969 to 2004 and President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) from 1994 to 2004. Ideologically an Arab nationalist and a socialist, Arafat was a founding member of the Fatah political party, which he led from 1959 until 2004.
Khalil Ibrahim al-Wazir was a Palestinian leader and co-founder of the nationalist party Fatah. As a top aide of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat, al-Wazir had considerable influence in Fatah's military activities, eventually becoming the commander of Fatah's armed wing al-Assifa.
Mohammad Yusuf Dahlan born on 29 September 1961 in Khan Yunis Refugee Camp, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip also known by the kunya Abu Fadi is a Palestinian politician, the former leader of Fatah in Gaza. Dahlan was born to a refugee family from Hamama, the youngest of six children.
Elections for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) were held in Palestinian Autonomous areas from 1994 until their transition into the State of Palestine in 2013. Elections were scheduled to be held in 2009, but was postponed because of the Fatah–Hamas conflict. President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to stay on until the next election, but he is recognized as president only in the West Bank and not by Hamas in Gaza. The Palestinian National Authority has held several elections in the Palestinian territories, including elections for president, the legislature and local councils. The PNA has a multi-party system, with numerous parties. In this system, Fatah is the dominant party.
The Palestinian government is the government of the Palestinian Authority or State of Palestine. The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (EC) is the highest executive body of the Palestine Liberation Organization and acts as the government. Since June 2007, there have been two separate administrations in Palestine, one in the West Bank and the other in the Gaza Strip. The government on the West Bank was generally recognised as the Palestinian Authority Government. On the other hand, the government in the Gaza Strip claimed to be the legitimate government of the Palestinian Authority. Until June 2014, when the Palestinian Unity Government was formed, the government in the West Bank was the Fatah-dominated Palestinian government of 2013. In the Gaza Strip, the government was the Hamas government of 2012. Following two Fatah–Hamas Agreements in 2014, on 25 September 2014 Hamas agreed to let the PA Government resume control over the Gaza Strip and its border crossings with Egypt and Israel, but that agreement had broken down by June 2015, after President Abbas said the PA government was unable to operate in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian National Initiative is a Palestinian political party led by Mustafa Barghouti.
The Third Way is a centrist Palestinian political party active in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Founded on 16 December 2005, the party was led by Salam Fayyad and Hanan Ashrawi. The party presents itself as an alternative to the two-party system of Hamas and Fatah.
The Palestinian Authority Government of March 2006, also known as the First Haniyeh Government, was a government of the Palestinian National Authority (PA), led by Ismail Haniyeh, that was sworn in on 29 March 2006 and was followed by the Palestinian unity government of 17 March 2007. On 25 January 2006, Hamas won the election for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) with 44.4% of the vote vs Fatah's 41.4%, and its leader Haniyeh formed the government, which comprised mostly Hamas members as well as four independents, after Fatah and other factions had refused to form a government with Hamas. It was the first Hamas-led PA government in the Palestinian territories.
The next Palestinian legislative election was scheduled for 22 May 2021, according to a decree by President Mahmoud Abbas on 15 January 2021, but was indefinitely postponed on 29 April 2021.
The Palestinian Authority Government of June 2002 was a government of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) from June to September 2002, headed by Yasser Arafat, the President of the Palestinian National Authority.
The president of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position in the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The president appoints the prime minister of the Palestinian National Authority, who normally requires approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and who shares executive and administrative power with the president.
Legislative elections were held in the Palestinian territories on 25 January 2006 in order to elect the second Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). The result was a victory for the Islamist organization Hamas, contesting under the list name of Change and Reform, which received 44.45% of the vote and won 74 of the 132 seats, whilst the ruling Fatah received 41.43% of the vote and won 45 seats.
The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) is the unicameral legislature of the Palestinian Authority, elected by the Palestinian residents of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It currently comprises 132 members, elected from 16 electoral districts of the Palestinian Authority. The PLC has a quorum requirement of two-thirds, and since 2006 Hamas and Hamas-affiliated members have held 74 of the 132 seats in the PLC. The PLC's activities were suspended in 2007 and remained so as of November 2023, while PLC committees continue working at a low rate and parliamentary panel discussions are still occurring.
The Battle of Gaza was a military conflict between Fatah and Hamas that took place in the Gaza Strip from 10 to 15 June 2007. It was a prominent event in the Fatah–Hamas conflict, centered on the struggle for power after Fatah lost the 2006 Palestinian legislative election. The battle resulted in the dissolution of the unity government and the de facto division of the Palestinian territories into two entities: the West Bank governed by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), and the Gaza Strip governed by Hamas. Hamas fighters took control of the Gaza Strip, while Fatah officials were either taken as prisoners, executed, or expelled. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights reported that at least 161 people were killed and more than 700 were wounded during the fighting.
Ahmed Ali Mohammed Qurei, also known by his Arabic name kunyaAbu Alaa, was a Palestinian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority.
The Palestinian Security Services (PSS) are the armed forces and intelligence agencies of the State of Palestine. They comprise several institutions, notably the Security Forces and the Police. The President of the Palestinian National Authority is Commander-in-Chief of the Palestinian Forces.
The Palestinian Authority Government of April 2003 was a government of the Palestinian National Authority (PA) from 29 April to 6 September 2003. It was headed by Mahmoud Abbas, the first PA Prime Minister. The Prime Minister and his government were approved by the Palestinian Legislative Council on 29 April.