Officials said the PA has been discussing options for presidential and
legislative elections over the next year. They said the effort has been
approved by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, whose term expired in January 2010, Middle East Newsline reported.
"Fatah would support a government decision to hold elections," Abbas
aide Azzam Al Ahmed said.
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Al Ahmed, a former PA minister and senior Fatah official, said Abbas
would convene meetings to determine the feasibility of elections. He said
elections could be staged despite the split between the PA-controlled West
Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
In June, the PA canceled municipal elections in the West Bank amid
heavy pressure by the ruling Fatah movement. The cancellation of elections
came after Hamas's boycott, which sparked concerns within Fatah that the
vote would be deemed illegitimate by the international community.
In December, the PA High Court deemed the cancellation of elections
illegal. The court ordered that the PA schedule elections as soon as
possible.
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