Palestinian Election Commission Opens Filing for First Legislative Vote Since 2006
Published
The Palestinian Central Elections Commission began accepting candidate-list applications at 8 a.m. on Saturday, at its Al-Bireh headquarters and its Deir al-Balah office in Gaza, for the November 28 legislative election, the first in 20 years. Filing runs 12 days and closes at 4 p.m. on October 7. Only lists of 16 to 132 candidates may run, each backed by 3,000 voter signatures and a $20,000 payment. The commission says 2.97 million Palestinians are eligible to vote. A Hamas source says the group has again discussed with other factions running on a single national list led by technocrats, and Islamic Jihad has decided to back such a list without fielding its own candidates.