Mahmoud Abbas
Photo: AFP
Mousa Abu Marzouk
Photo: Reuters
Abbas says will announce election date on October 25
Palestinian president tells Fatah Revolutionary Council he will set date for next Palestinian Authority presidential and legislative elections by month's end. Hamas official says group needs more time to consider Egyptian-brokered truce
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that he will announce the date for the next general elections in the Palestinian Authority on October 25, providing the Fatah-Hamas truce is finalized.
"We will announce the date for the next presidential and legislative elections on October 25," he said at a Fatah Revolutionary Council meeting, which took place in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
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Under Palestinian law, Abbas must declare an official election date three months prior to the vote, thus possibly setting the date of the next PA elections to January 25, 2010.
However, the elections may be pushed back to June if the rivaling Palestinian factions agree to the reconciliation agreement proposed by Egypt.
Meanwhile, Deputy Hamas Politburo Chief Mousa Abu Marzouk said that Hamas would need at least one more month before signing the deal.
According to Marzouk, the additional time would allow the Palestinian people to come to terms with the reconciliation deal following the crisis created by the PA's position on the Goldstone Report.
Hamas, he said, understands the "mood of the street," adding that meeting with Abbas at this time would be difficult, since the "street" is not ready to absolve him of responsibility at this time.
A Hamas delegation is expected to arrive in Egypt Sunday to relay the Islamist group's answer to the latest draft. Hamas is likely to agree to the deal in principle, but ask to postpone signing the agreement.
