Description of Electoral System:

(courtesy of IFES election guide)

The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 4-year term. In the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), 66 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system and 66 members are elected by relative majority vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.

Electoral Systems Snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

*Click on links for definitions

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Most recent elections

(courtesy of wikipedia)

On January 25, 2006, elections were held for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), the legislature of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Notwithstanding the 2005 municipal elections and the January 9, 2005 presidential election, this was the first election to the PLC since 1996; subsequent elections had been repeatedly postponed due to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinian voters in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank including East Jerusalem were eligible to participate in the election.

Final results show that Hamas won the election, with 74 seats to the ruling-Fatah's 45, providing Hamas with the majority of seats and the ability to form a majority government on their own.

The Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, resigned, but at the request of President Mahmoud Abbas, remained as interim Prime Minister until February 19, when Hamas leader Ismail Haniya formed the new government.