Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announces new elections in a speech to the nation at his headquarters in Ramallah. (Fadi Arouri, Maan Images)

Today, the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, gave a speech calling for new general elections with the goal of ending the international boycott of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority government. It is disputed whether or not Abbas, as President, has the authority to call for new elections. The powers of the President are outlined in the Palestinian Basic Law. Below are answers to some frequently asked questions about the Palestinian Basic Law.

1. What is the Palestinian Basic Law?

The Palestinian Basic Law is the Palestinian's quasi-constitution. Drafted in 1997 and later amended in 2003, it outlines the powers of the President, Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers (the Palestinian cabinet) and the Palestinian Legislative Council (the Palestinian congress) until the Israeli occupation is ended and Palestinian freedom is achieved. The provisions of the Basic Law can be amended by a two-thirds majority of the Palestinian Legislative Council. (1) For several years Palestinians have discussed the need for a Constitution after Palestinians win their freedom and independence from Israeli military rule is achieved.

2. What are the powers of the President under the Basic Law?

The powers of the President are limited by the 2003 amendments to the Basic Law. Prior to these amendments, the Council of Ministers reported to the President and the President had wide-ranging powers. In 2003, in an effort to limit the power of Yasser Arafat, the democratically-elected Palestinian President, the United States and European Union put immense pressure on the Palestinians to create the post of an "empowered Prime Minister." (2) As a result, the powers of the President are now limited to the following major functions:

• Appointing, removing and accepting the resignation of the Prime Minister. (3) President Abbas, in February 2006, appointed Ismail Haniyeh, a leader of Hamas, as the Prime Minister following Hamas's election victory.


• Ratifying legislation. (4) Within 30 days of being presented with legislation, the President must either ratify the law or veto the legislation. If vetoed, the PLC may override his veto with a two-thirds majority vote.


• Issuing decrees. (5) When the PLC is not in session, the President may issue decrees that have the force of law. Such decrees must obtain PLC approval once the PLC is in session, otherwise they will cease to be valid.


• Declaring a State of Emergency. (6) The President may declare a state of emergency when there is a "threat to national security caused by war, invasion, armed insurrection or at a time of national disaster." The declaration of a state of emergency shall not to exceed 30 days and can be renewed for an additional 30 days with the approval of two-thirds of the PLC. During the state of emergency, Parliament cannot be dissolved or suspended. (7)

3. Can the President Call for New Elections?

The Basic Law does not address the issue of new elections. The duration of the PLC's term is four years from the date of election. The Basic Law does not stipulate whether the President or the Prime Minister can call for early elections and, if so, under what conditions.

Those who argue that the President can call for early elections point to the provisions in the Basic Law that explicitly state that the PLC cannot be dissolved or suspended during the declaration of a state of emergency. By extension, proponents argue that the Basic Law implicitly allows the President to suspend or dissolve the PLC when there is not a state of emergency. Others believe that the President, under the 2003 revisions of the Basic Law, was never intended to have such broad and sweeping powers.

4. Can the President Call for a Referendum?

As with calling for new elections, the Basic Law does not address this issue.

5. What can be done to break the Hamas-Fatah impasse?

The current impasse stems from the international boycott of the Palestinian Authority and the impact of the boycott on thousands of Palestinians. Since March 2006, the international community has boycotted the democratically-elected Palestinian Authority. With the Palestinians still under Israeli military rule and with no access to borders, water or airspace, the Palestinian economy is unable to develop. As a result, the largest employer in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is the Palestinian Authority. With 165,000 employees, the Palestinian Authority provides education, health care and municipal services to over 3.8 million Palestinians. The boycott by the international community (which in the past largely funded the operations of the Palestinian Authority), coupled with Israel's refusal to turn over hundreds of millions of Palestinian taxpayer dollars to the Palestinian Authority, has led to an unprecedented financial crisis. It is estimated that almost 70 percent of Palestinians now live below the poverty line and basic services (including health care and education) is not being provided to Palestinians. United Nations agencies recently requested a record $453.6 million in aid for 2007. (8) Such financial constraints will inevitably affect internal security and public order.

6. Does this mean that the boycott has been effective?

This depends on the goal of the boycott. If the objective was to impoverish a nation for exercising its democratic rights in a free and fair election - in which foreign powers disapproved of the outcome - then that goal has been achieved.

However, this is the first time in history that an occupied people have been subject to such a boycott, rather than their occupier - Israel. In addition, it is rare that a nation is boycotted expressly because the result of a fair and democratic election was deemed unfavorable by external powers.

1. Palestinian Basic Law, Article 111.
2. Reference from Road Map.
3. Palestinian Basic Law, Article 45.
4. Palestinian Basic Law, Article 41.
5. Palestinian Basic Law, Article 43.
6. Palestinian Basic Law, Article 110.
7. Palestinian Basic Law, Article 113.
8. Amira Hass, Haaretz, http://imeu.net/news/article003893.shtml