Penny Wong ‘deeply disappointed’ by Palestinian election delay

The Albanese government has accused the Palestinian Authority of undermining hopes of a two-state solution by scrapping plans to hold the first Palestinian elections in two decades next month.

The government cited Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ commitment to hold elections as a key precondition for recognising Palestinian statehood last year, sparking claims it was gullible to believe such a pledge was likely to be fulfilled.

The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank and represents Palestine in international forums, announced over the weekend that the elections scheduled for November 28 would be delayed until September 11 next year.

Abbas’s office blamed Israeli restrictions and the widespread destruction in Gaza for the postponement, but the decision has angered Western governments who believe the Palestinian Authority desperately needs reform and renewal.

A spokesperson for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “President Abbas’ decision to postpone the Palestinian Legislative Council election is deeply disappointing.

“Credible elections are an important element of the Palestinian Authority’s commitment to the international community on reform, democratic renewal and accountable governance.”

The spokesperson indicated Australia would not take practical steps towards recognition, such as the opening of embassies, until the Palestinian Authority lives up to its commitments.

“We call on the Palestinian Authority to ensure elections take place without delay,” the spokesperson said.

“Continuing to delay elections undermines the prospects of a two-state solution.”

Coalition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to recognise Palestine before key conditions were delivered showed a “dangerous lack of judgement”.

“The promise of democratic elections gave Labor’s premature recognition of Palestine a veneer of legitimacy, and now that veneer has been stripped away,” O’Brien said.

“The prime minister should make a statement to parliament on the status of Palestine’s compliance to the assurances he claimed to have received by President Abbas, and clarify what action his government will take in the event that democratic elections are not held next year, and Hamas are not disarmed and excluded from the process.”

The most recent Palestinian elections were held in 2006, delivering an overwhelming majority to Hamas that helped spark a civil war in Gaza and saw Hamas take control of the strip.

The lack of elections has allowed Abbas, who also postponed elections in 2021, to remain in power for two decades despite being increasingly despised by Palestinians and viewed as inefficient and corrupt.

Abbas, 90, told French President Emmanuel Macron in a letter last year that he intended to hold presidential and general elections within a year under international supervision.

The French Foreign Ministry said the postponement “once again deprives the Palestinian people of the right to democratic expression at the ballot box” and urged the authority to reconsider.

“The democratic principles that are the very foundation of the State of Palestine, which France recognised, depend upon it,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Palestinian delegation in Canberra did not respond to a request for comment.

Israel goes to the polls on October 27, the first election since the October 7 attack that triggered the Gaza war.

Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, said the Palestinian Authority had “blatantly flouted” the promises it had made to Australia and must be held accountable.

“The Albanese government must explain what consequences will follow for the PA’s repeated refusal to abide by the very commitments upon which recognition was based,” he said.

The Palestinian Authority last month said it had complied with a key condition of Australia’s recognition of Palestinian statehood as Israel and the United States accuse it of rebranding a controversial prisoner-payment scheme widely known as “pay for slay” to avoid international condemnation.

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