Elections and the Reconstruction of the National Liberation Project

With the issuance of the presidential decree setting the date for the legislative elections on November 28th, Palestinian political life enters a long-awaited new phase. However, the importance of this entitlement lies not in its date or procedures, but rather in the question that imposes itself today: what is the relationship between this democratic entitlement and the task of rebuilding the Palestinian national liberation project? And can elections become part of this process, or will they remain merely a constitutional entitlement that reproduces the crisis under more complex circumstances?

There is no disagreement that elections are an inherent democratic right, and that renewing legitimacies is a national necessity that should not remain hostage to postponement or political calculations. A political system capable of confronting challenges, or restoring citizens' trust in its institutions, cannot be built without returning to the will of the people and respecting their right to choose their representatives as the source of authorities and the owner of legitimacies.

However, the Palestinian experience has confirmed that elections, no matter how fair, are not enough on their own to address a political and national crisis of this magnitude, if there is no agreement on the nature of the stage, its priorities, the rules of national partnership, respect for political pluralism, and commitment to representative political references.

Elections are not a national project in themselves, but rather one of the tools of political action. Their true value is measured by their ability to contribute to rebuilding the political system, strengthening the unity of national institutions, renewing trust between citizens and their institutions, and placing the national liberation project back at the center of political action.

This issue takes on exceptional importance in light of the attempts to reshape the political and geographical reality of the Palestinian cause. The continuation of the war of extermination, starvation, and displacement in the Gaza Strip and the formation of alternative administrations there, and the escalation of settlement and annexation in the West Bank, and even the displacement of our camps, do not only target land and people, but aim to impose a new political reality, in which the Palestinian people are reduced to population clusters managed under occupation through the re-engineering of the region, instead of recognizing them as a people with a right to freedom, self-determination, and national independence.

In contrast, the international and regional systems are undergoing profound transformations, revealed by the war on Gaza and the unprecedented expansion of global popular solidarity that accompanied it, the increasing recognition of the State of Palestine despite the symbolism of some without consequences, and the unprecedented expansion of criticism of Israeli policies, especially in the West, including in the United States, in addition to the rapid shifts in the international balance of power. Although these changes have not yet translated into decisive international policies, they open new opportunities for us Palestinians, just as they impose new challenges on us.

However, the reliance should not be on these transformations alone, nor on waiting for the outcomes of regional and international changes, but rather on possessing an independent national political vision and will, capable of seizing opportunities and confronting risks. External changes may provide new margins for movement, but they cannot compensate for the absence of the necessities of rebuilding the national liberation project, nor for the continuation of division, nor for the weakness of institutions.

Perhaps the biggest mistake is to reduce elections to a means of renewing authority, while the real challenge lies in rebuilding the Palestinian national liberation project, and renewing its tools, mechanisms of action, and forms of struggle, in line with the transformations imposed by the war, and restoring the اعتبار of our cause as a national liberation cause for a people striving for freedom and independence, not a matter of managing populations under occupation.

What is required today is not only to rebuild the political system, but to redefine the relationship between its institutions and objectives, so that the national authority becomes a tool in the service of the national liberation project, and not for the national project to become a tool in the service of authority.

From this perspective, the amendments introduced to the election law, whether related to the number of members of the Legislative Council, the threshold percentage, or others, deserve a calm, responsible, and broad national discussion, not from the perspective of prior support or rejection, but from the perspective of their impact on political life. The challenge lies not only in expanding representation, but also in preserving programmatic competition, strengthening the role of political and societal forces, limiting fragmentation, and preventing the prevalence of local, personal, or tribal considerations or the influence of political money over national choices.

Hence, elections should be included within a broader political and national process, starting with a responsible national dialogue, not based on quotas or sharing positions, but on agreement on the nature of the stage and its priorities, the minimum national program, the foundations of national partnership, respect for election results, and strengthening the status of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole legitimate representative of our people, and working to develop and activate its institutions on democratic foundations as a broad national front, ensuring the participation of all components of our people in the homeland and the diaspora.

The legitimacy our people need today is not only electoral legitimacy, but also national legitimacy, measured by the ability of elected institutions to protect the national liberation project, preserve the unity of the people, land, and cause, and defend inalienable Palestinian rights, foremost among them the right to self-determination and the embodiment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

Electoral entitlement has become a political reality today, but its success will not depend on election day alone, but on the ability of national forces, civil society, and national independents to restore people's trust, build a comprehensive national political discourse, protect the national will from political money and centers of influence and from all forms of external influence, and strengthen national partnership in confronting the most dangerous project targeting our cause.

While elections should include the presidency at the same time without postponement to another time next year, and ensure the participation of our people in all governorates of the homeland, including Gaza and Jerusalem, they are not a battle for power, but should be part of a battle to rebuild the Palestinian national movement, renew its institutions, regain political initiative, and unite the energies of our people in confronting the occupation and its plans.

If we Palestinians make good use of this entitlement, it could become an important step in the path of rebuilding the national liberation project on the foundations of partnership, democracy, and independence. However, if it is reduced to a competition for power or to reproducing division, it will remain just another stop in managing the crisis, while what is required is to overcome it, and move towards a new stage in which the national liberation project, with all its political, democratic, and struggle dimensions, is the compass that guides Palestinian national action.

* Member of the Fatah Movement's Advisory Council.