Fatah’s Democratic Reform Current accuses Abbas of delaying elections to remain in power

Dimitri Diliani, a member of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council and spokesperson for the movement’s Democratic Reform Current, has accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of postponing elections to maintain his hold on power and avoid public accountability.

In an interview with Quds Press on Monday, Diliani criticised the cancellation of legislative elections scheduled for 28th November 2026, and the decision to set 11th September 2027, as the date for simultaneous presidential and legislative elections.

He said the postponement would prolong Abbas’s control over Palestinian political institutions and have significant political and national consequences.

Diliani called for presidential and legislative elections to be held as soon as possible, arguing that voters should be given the opportunity to hold Abbas accountable for repeated electoral delays, the weakening of political institutions and what he described as failures in political and institutional performance.

“Abbas has not renewed his electoral legitimacy since his term expired 17 years ago; yet, he continues to set and then postpone the date for his own accountability,” Diliani said.

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He argued that holding presidential and legislative elections without further delay, with priority given to the presidential vote, would restore decision-making authority to Palestinians and create opportunities for political reform.

Diliani also claimed that Abbas feared the emergence of an electoral alliance bringing together the Democratic Reform Current, opposition figures within Fatah and other Palestinian factions.

He said such an alliance could secure sufficient electoral support to challenge Abbas’s leadership and end what he described as a monopoly on political power.

Diliani characterized the postponement until September 2027 as an attempt to shield the Palestinian Authority from accountability and preserve the existing political system.

He argued that the decision deprived approximately 15.5 million Palestinians, both in the Palestinian territories and abroad, of an opportunity to exercise their political rights.

He also criticised the delay against the backdrop of the continuing war in Gaza and Israeli actions in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, which he described as genocide and ethnic cleansing.

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