Palestine - November 2025

On 19 November, President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree-law introducing a new framework for the Palestinian municipal elections scheduled for April 2026. A key provision of the law requires all candidates wishing to participate in the elections to sign a declaration of allegiance to the political programme of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). This requirement has raised concerns as rights groups warn that it effectively excludes political actors and organizations outside the PLO framework from participating in the elections. A total of five factions—including four that are formally affiliated with the PLO (the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestine People’s Party, and the Palestinian Democratic Union) and one independent faction, the Palestinian National Initiative (Al-Mubadara)—have rejected the requirement and called for the withdrawal of the presidential decree.

Sources: Central Elections Commission, Independent Commission for Human Rights, Al Quds