Middle East & North Africa
Australia, Canada, France and the UK regret postponement of Palestinian elections to September 2027
Four foreign ministers urge the Palestinian Authority to reconsider the delay of legislative and presidential elections, and call on Israel not to obstruct a vote.
The foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, France and the United Kingdom said on 13 October that they “deeply regret” the Palestinian President’s decision to postpone the Palestinian Legislative Council elections and the presidential election to September 2027. The joint statement was published by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
The four ministers noted that nearly two decades have passed since the last legislative elections and five years since the planned 2021 vote was postponed. They said an entire generation of Palestinians has reached adulthood without the chance to choose its elected representatives, and that the new delay will further erode public confidence in democratic institutions.
The statement acknowledges what it calls significant challenges and impediments to holding elections in line with international standards and with the participation of all eligible Palestinians. It commends the work of the Central Elections Commission on practical preparations for voter participation.
The ministers link credible elections to the reform commitments that President Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority made, including democratic renewal and accountable governance, and to the June 2025 New York Declaration. In their words, strengthening Palestinian governance is essential to building the institutional foundations of a viable two-state solution.
They call on the Palestinian Authority to reconsider the postponement and to hold legislative and presidential elections “without further delay”, and say they will keep supporting efforts to deliver them. They also repeat a call on Israel to refrain from actions that could impede the conduct of elections, including the practical arrangements needed for all Palestinians to take part.
The statement ends by restating the four governments’ position that Hamas can have no role in the future governance of Palestine.
The statement does not give the reasons the Palestinian leadership offered for the postponement, and the Palestinian side’s response was not part of the material read for this report. The same two-state framing appeared at the UN this week in the British statement covered in UK at the Security Council: two-state solution “under serious threat”, with calls on Israel over Gaza aid and E1 and on Hamas to disarm.
