Palestinian Authority calls elections before September
By IANSSunday, February 13, 2011
GAZA - The Palestinian Authority has said it will hold long overdue presidential and legislative elections before September.
The presidential and legislative elections were originally scheduled for 2010. But they were called off because of internal problems within the government, Xinhua reported Sunday.
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist political party, however, responded quickly with a rejection to participate.
The Palestinian Authority (PA), an administrative organisation, was established to govern parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It has named itself Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
PA was formed in 1994, pursuant to the Oslo Accords between the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the government of Israel, as a five-year interim body, during which final status negotiations between the two parties were to take place.
Over 16 years following the formulation of the PNA, a final status is yet to be reached.
