Four Western foreign ministers condemn Abbas’s postponement of Palestinian elections

In a joint communiqué, the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom voiced deep regret over Mahmoud Abbas’s decree to postpone the Palestinian presidential and legislative elections originally set for 2026 and 2027. They highlighted that the last Palestinian Legislative Council vote occurred almost twenty years ago, depriving a whole generation of voting rights and eroding confidence in democratic institutions.

The ministers called on the Palestinian Authority to reconsider the delay and schedule the elections promptly, urging Israel to refrain from any measures that could impede the electoral process and reiterating that Hamas cannot have a role in future governance. Their statement recalled that the four nations formally recognized a State of Palestine in September 2025, a move predicated on the PA’s commitment to hold elections.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee criticized Canada’s stance, arguing that the PA has failed to honor its election pledge tied to statehood recognition. Abbas, who has led the PA since 2005 without a re-election, would see the postponed vote become the first parliamentary election since January 2006, when Hamas defeated his Fatah party.