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Palestine stays committed to its pledge to hold parliamentary elections

There have been no elections in the Palestinian territories since 2006

MOSCOW, May 5. /TASS/. Palestine’s Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki has briefed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the reasons behind the postponement of the parliamentary elections and confirmed Palestine’s commitment to holding them in all territories.

"We discussed the circumstances that forced the government of Palestine to postpone the elections that were due on May 22. We explained clearly and in great detail what made us take such a decision. We also reaffirm that the Palestinian State is committed to holding the elections. We confirm that these elections will be held in all Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem. It is our obligation to the international community and the Palestinian people," Al-Maliki told a news conference following talks with his Russian counterpart on Wednesday.

There have been no elections in the Palestinian territories since 2006. Formally, the presidential mandate and the powers of the Palestinian Legislative Council’s members have already expired. Voting was originally scheduled for the second half of May, but the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, postponed Palestine’s general election until the participation of East Jerusalem residents was guaranteed. He said Israel had denied permission to conduct an election campaign in East Jerusalem ahead of the elections to Palestinian leadership bodies, for which reason the international community must exert pressure on the Jewish state, he added.