Fact Sheet: Palestinian Political Process & Parties
The Oslo Accords established a national democratic framework for Palestinians living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. On January 20, 1996, 1500 international observers witnessed the first national Palestinian election in these areas. 88% of Palestinians living in Gaza and 70% in the West Bank went to the polls to elect a Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and a President of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The PLC is the first national institution elected by Palestinians living in territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, and lays the foundations for the first democratic legislative body in the Arab world. (Palestinian National Authority Website) One of the goals of the peace process is to strengthen the chance that the Palestinians will be the first full fledged democracy in the Arab world. This transition from an armed political movement to a fully democratic system has been a difficult and long process. Palestinian society still has elements of pre-Oslo revolutionary movements but is attempting to develop a democratic structure through the peace process.POLITICAL SYSTEM
- Palestinian government is a hybrid of parliamentary and presidential systems. Voters elect both a President of the executive authority and a parliament which is elected according to legislative districts (National Democratic Institute for International Affairs Report, May 1996. Hereafter, cited as NDI, 1996).
The government is divided into executive and legislative bodies. The executive is known as the Palestinian National Authority (PA) and the legislative is known as the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC).
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
- The Palestinian Authority is the executive authority for Palestinian self-government. The President of the PA is Yasser Arafat who has the power to initiate legislation and promulgate laws passed by the PLC (Palestinian Academic Network Website).
The PA consists of 26 ministries and currently has 9 ministers without portfolio. The President appoints the cabinet which must consist of at least 80% of elected members of the PLC (Palestinian National Authority Website and Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs, 1997 Report. Hereafter cited as PASSIA, 1997)
The President is elected to a 5 year term and is not subject to votes of non-confidence. He cannot dissolve the PLC which has been elected to serve for the remainder of the interim period which is due to expire on May 4, 1999 (Palestinian Legislative Council Website and PASSIA, 1997).
PALESTINIAN LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
- The Palestinian Legislative Council consists of 88 members while the President of the PA is an ex officio member and the 89th member of the council. PLC members elect a Speaker of the Council who serve one year beginning at the commencement of each session, and may be re-elected.
Members are elected from 16 governates with each governate receiving a particular number of seats in the parliament, primarily according to population (NDI, 1996).
The PLC is a legislative body with limited jurisdiction. It does not have any power or responsibility in the area of foreign relations and cannot adopt legislation related to final status negotiations.
However, the PLC does have legislative powers in "domestic" spheres such as economic affairs, education, health care, etc. There are 11 committees operating in the PLC, which are headed by chairmen. The PLC also has oversight responsibilities such as approving the Palestinian Cabinet (Palestinian Academic Network Website).
PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION - PLO
- The PLO remains an integral part of the peace process because it represents Palestinians in the Diaspora as well as those living in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
The PLO’s legislative body is known as the Palestinian National Council (PNC) which consists of PLC members and other representatives who are primarily nominated by the PLO Executive Committee. Currently, there are 669 members of the PNC (PASSIA, 1997).
The PLO Executive Committee is the executive organ of the PLO and consists of 18 members who are elected by the PNC. Yasser Arafat is the Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the PLO.
MAJOR PARTIES REPRESENTED IN THE PLC
- FATAH: Fatah was established in 1959 by Yasser Arafat and is the largest, most influential PLO faction. Today, Fatah is Arafat’s power base and the most pragmatic group regarding a political settlement with Israel. (PASSIA, 1997)
- HAMAS, The Islamic Resistance Movement: Hamas is a Muslim resistance movement which emerged shortly after the outbreak of the Intifada in January 1988. Hamas was founded by Muslim Brotherhood members and is led by Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. Hamas is not a part of the PLO and is the primary rival to Arafat. Much of Hamas’ support derives from an extensive network of social services it provides to thousands of poor Palestinians. Hamas has claimed responsibility for numerous suicide bombings in Israel. As opponents of the Oslo Accords, Hamas officially boycotted the 1996 PLC elections. (PASSIA, 1997)
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP): PFLP is an anti-Arafat faction within the PLO formed in 1969. This group opposes the Oslo Accords and is considered to be connected to Syrian Military Intelligence. (PASSIA, 1997)
- Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA): FIDA is a political party which emerged after the Madrid peace talks and launched a campaign of democratization and a transformation of the Intifada society to a civil society. In 1991, FIDA announced its intention to reflect political pluralism and democracy. FIDA supports the Declaration of Principles signed on September 13, 1993. (PASSIA, 1997)
PLC MEMBERSHIP
Membership information in this table is from PASSIA, 1997.
Party Number of Representatives Independent 11 FIDA 1 Fatah 55 Hamas* 4 PFLP 1 Fatah/Independent 12 Fatah/Hamas** 2 IndependentPFLP 1 Independent/Hamas 1 *These PLC Members did not run as Hamas representatives, but are known to be Hamas members. **Candidates may have party affiliations that seem contradictory, however this is mainly due to continuing evolution of their political system in an emerging democratic society.