Palestinian political alliance says it will protest election cancellation

A number of Palestinian political groups have pledged to launch a series of protests if upcoming Palestinian elections are cancelled.

The electoral lists said in a press statement warned that a supreme coordination committee had been formed and will announce on Wednesday a range of political activities from parties and civil society groups if the elections are postponed. 

The Palestinian leadership is set to meet on Thursday to discuss the scheduled legislative legislative elections, due to take place on 22 May - the first in over 15 years. 

The supreme council said it will "affirm the rights of the Palestinian people to participate in the legislative elections on time, in all governorates. At the heart of it is Jerusalem".

They also agreed on the need to "allow the people of Jerusalem to speak and determine the appropriate form for their participation in the activities agreed upon".

It is believed that the elections will be cancelled due to an attempt by Israel to block voting in East Jerusalem.

This has sparked anger among some political parties who feel they were not consulted in decision making.  

"The only party that can decide this is the lists that ran for the elections, in addition to the Palestinian popular forces," Hassan Khreisheh, head of the independent Watan list, told Arabi21. 

"Any attempt to postpone or cancel the elections will raise many questions, including who are those who will postpone the elections? And in what capacity? And who installed them and authorised them to do so?" he added.

"It is absolutely necessary that elections take place, and Palestinian democracy must be practiced," said Odeh Al-Amor, head of the Palestine Brings Us together tribal list, also to Arabi21.

Some political leaders also rejected the idea that issues in Jerusalem should be grounds for postponing the election. 

"Jerusalem should not be a pretext for postponement, nor should we be subject to Israeli approval regarding Jerusalem," Alaa Hamidan, a spokesman for the Hamas affiliated Jerusalem Is Our Promise list, told Anadolu Agency.

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"We can impose our right in the elections, so let it be a patriotic battle to prove the national right in Jerusalem, and matters may revolve," he added. 

In a memorandum by the lists' legal committee, seen by The New Arab’s Arabic language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, they warned that any delay "undermines the right of the Palestinian people to determine their own destiny".

The memorandum demanded that the Palestinian Central Elections Committee "adhere to its independence and not consider any decisions issued in contravention of the rule of law and the relevant constitutional rules".

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