Rajoub Doubts Palestinian elections will be held in November, calls 2021 postponement ‘strategic error’

Senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub has expressed doubt that Palestinian elections scheduled for 28th November will take place as planned, arguing that the political arrangements and consensus required to hold the vote have not yet been reached.

Rajoub, secretary-general of Fatah’s Central Committee, made the remarks during a televised interview with Al-Ghad TV on Monday, in which he discussed the electoral process, internal Fatah affairs and broader Palestinian political developments.

“It is my conviction that the elections will not take place on 28th November — period,” Rajoub said.

Rajoub argued that a presidential decree setting the election date should have been preceded by a comprehensive national dialogue among Palestinian political factions to establish the rules, guarantees and conditions governing the electoral process.

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During the interview, Rajoub also discussed the prospects for future presidential and legislative elections and the potential candidacy of imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, as well as recent disputes within the movement’s leadership.

Rajoub also revisited the decision to postpone Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for 2021, describing Fatah’s acceptance of the postponement as a “strategic error.”

“The greatest strategic mistake we in Fatah have made” was agreeing to postpone those elections, Rajoub said.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas postponed the 2021 parliamentary elections amid a dispute over whether Palestinians in East Jerusalem would be permitted to participate. Rajoub argued that the decision ultimately resulted in the cancellation of the electoral process rather than resolving the underlying dispute.

He said the experience demonstrated the need to establish political consensus and electoral guarantees before proceeding with future elections, warning against repeating the circumstances that led to the collapse of the 2021 vote.

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