Palestinian elections offer real chance for renewal

This month’s Palestinian presidential decree setting a date for legislative elections — Nov. 28 — raises a fundamental question: should we see the glass as being half-empty or as half-full? Legislative elections offer a serious opportunity for reform and for injecting new blood into a Palestinian political system that has grown old without delivering liberation and independence.
At the same time, skepticism is understandable. Some see the decree as an attempt to engineer election outcomes to protect the interests of those in power. The decision to separate legislative and presidential elections may also be viewed as a mechanism to prevent parties that would challenge the current leadership from rising. This recalls what happened in 2006, when Hamas won amid a fragmented national vote, especially among the factions within Fatah. In that context, preserving the presidency could be presented as a safeguard.
Meanwhile, the requirement that candidates accept in writing the commitments made by the Palestine Liberation Organization is often discussed as a means to exclude Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Others argue that lowering the parliamentary threshold to 1 percent will fragment the vote and increase the presence of candidates linked to families and clans rather than political parties and movements.
All these observations may contain elements of truth but none of them should be decisive for those who genuinely want change. If Palestinians want reform, they must stop treating the electoral process as a matter of dispute only and instead treat it as an opportunity that demands political work.
The claim that the PLO approval requirement is an international, or even an Israeli, condition is not entirely new either. In practice, elections held since 1993 have taken place under the umbrella of the Declaration of Principles between the PLO and the state of Israel, in which it has always been clear that the PLO holds the highest power over the Palestinian Authority. Hamas has participated in elections under this reality, aware that the elections proceed through arrangements signed by the PLO chairman and that the PLO is recognized as the supreme Palestinian authority.
If Hamas previously accepted this structure while participating, it faces a choice today: either repeat the same approach and participate under the decree or remain outside the decision-making process, as happened in April’s municipal elections, in which Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine did not participate, with limited exception. The PFLP’s participation in Beit Jala took place under an “independent” label.
As for the modest 1 percent threshold, it may indeed produce a fragmented parliament. But the deeper issue is not fragmentation; it is the absence, until now, of serious political programs capable of addressing Palestinian anger, dissatisfaction and the widespread feeling that self-interest has often replaced the national interest.
If Palestinians want to influence decision-making today, they should not waste time complaining or hesitating. They should form electoral blocs to participate in parliament, develop realistic, implementable programs, and build coalitions around the aspirations of the Palestinian people. This also requires an honest search for new figures, including those who are not compromised by past corruption or failures and who are ready to do the hard work of follow-up and oversight. 

If Palestinians want to influence decision-making today, they should not waste time complaining.

Daoud Kuttab

These groups must also be prepared to work with others to develop a serious, moderate and applicable national strategy. The Palestinian and Arab public is tired of empty slogans, unattainable goals and promises that cannot be translated into action on the ground.
The upcoming elections also offer an important opportunity for the youth. The minimum age for candidacy has been lowered to 23, opening a political space that should be filled by Palestinians — especially young men and women — who are willing to participate and to build logical and reasonable projects, programs and plans.
There are, of course, enormous challenges to holding elections in Gaza and Jerusalem. After decades of being governed through competing national and Islamist factions, Palestinians in Gaza are eager to participate. The municipal elections in Deir Al-Balah in April may provide an indicator of genuine desire, even as Israeli occupation authorities sought to block the Central Elections Commission’s ballot boxes — instead, locally made election boxes did the job.
In Jerusalem, Palestinians urgently need mechanisms that help generate a new local leadership whose primary focus is the steadfastness of the city, not merely the repetition of national slogans.
Given that Israeli elections will be held a month before the Palestinian legislative vote, the occupation may try to disrupt or obstruct the process. Still, the Central Elections Commission surely has creative solutions, including technological ones, to respond to attempts at interference and preserve the integrity of the vote.
Some will argue that the decree itself is negative. Perhaps there are elements that deserve criticism, clarification or reform. Yet Palestinians must also ask what would replace the opportunity if participation is rejected. The national interest does not wait and people do not have the luxury of staying outside the arena while others remain organized and ready.
Yes, the glass may be half-empty. Palestinians should fill it with young, aware, honest and visionary leadership, including imprisoned leaders who must play a role in the next phase. The only way to move from frustration to change is to participate, organize and demand accountability through elections that reflect real programs and real commitment.

• Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is the author of ‘State of Palestine Now: Practical and Logical Arguments for the Best Way to Bring Peace to the Middle East.’
X: @daoudkuttab