The status of the Palestinian legislative elections and possibly the political fate of the current Palestinian leadership will be in the balance on the night of April 29, as heads of Palestinian factions are due to meet to decide whether to delay the May 22 elections or not. The official start of the election campaigning is due to begin April 30.

Palestinian sources told Al-Monitor that a yet to be announced internal decision has already been taken by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement to delay, yet what is needed is the blessing of the factions. With the exception of the official Fatah list, almost all other factions have publicly declared that they are opposed to any delays. Signed petitions, public statements and possibly a protest is expected to take place at the same time that the heads of the main Palestinian factions meet, most likely after the end of the Ramadan fast at sunset on Thursday.

Palestinian list leaders who are not all invited insist that since they signed up for elections based on the presidential decrees, deposited $20,000 each and all their candidates resigned from their positions, as per the election law, they should be present. But the only invitees are the heads of Palestinian factions (many on the payroll of the Palestinian presidency) as well as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The latter, which refuses to recognize the Oslo process and has vowed not to participate in the elections, has said they will not attend. The last time that secretary-generals of the Palestinian factions met was to usher the very process of reconciliation that led to the election process.

The official reason for the delay/cancellation of the elections has been given by one of Fatah’s senior leaders, Hussein al-Sheikh, minister of civilian affairs and the official liaison with the Israelis. Unlike the deputy head of Fatah, Mahmoud Alloul, and the Fatah secretary and architect of the current process, Jibril Rajoub, Sheikh is not on the Fatah list.