Ever since Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called Sept. 26 for elections to be held, there has been undeclared factional and political action to form electoral lists for the legislative balloting expected in March. Candidates have also been suggested for the presidential elections that would be held three months after the legislative ones.

Nasser al-Din al-Shaer, a former minister of education and higher education and former deputy prime minister in the government of Hamas’ politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh, is among the names Palestinians have been discussing as a consensus presidential candidate.

On Dec. 10, Palestinian journalist Nawaf al-Amer proposed Shaer as a candidate, and asked who would support him. Amer evoked a conversation with Jibril Rajoub, secretary-general of Fatah’s Central Committee, in which Rajoub told him that if Palestinian Islamists nominate Shaer, he would be a strong and competitive candidate.

Amer’s post received more than 115 comments and 200 likes, including from former ministers, members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, partisans and syndicate members, which indicates how real Shaer’s possible consensus candidacy could be.