UN urges new  Palestinian election date

Protests broke out in Ramallah to demand that the legislative and presidential polls - called for May 22 and July 31 respectively – go ahead.

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, said that he understood the “disappointment of the many Palestinians,” who have gone nearly 16 years without being able to cast their vote.  
 

Wennesland called on Palestinians “to continue on the democratic path” and noted the “widespread international support” for transparent and inclusive elections throughout the Palestinian territories, including in East Jerusalem.  

He said that allowing the vote to go ahead would give “legitimacy and credibility” to Palestinian institutions and help re-establish Palestinian national unity.  

He called on Abbas to set a new and timely date for elections in order to reassure the Palestinian people that “their voices will be heard”.

The last Palestine-wide ballot in 2006 saw Islamist group Hamas gain control over the Gaza Strip, while Abbas’ Fatah party won a majority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.