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Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/22696/palestinian-election-scam
The Great Palestinian Election Scam
(Gatestone Institute) Khaled Abu Toameh - Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has once again announced legislative and presidential elections, presenting the move as evidence of democratic renewal. Western governments and donors will undoubtedly welcome the announcement as a sign that Abbas is finally responding to long-standing demands for reform. They should not. Holding elections for the sake of holding elections is not reform. Elections alone do not create democracy, end corruption, or establish accountability. As seen in Russia, Venezuela, Iran and other dictatorships, elections are not signs of reform, but just choreographed burlesques. The Palestinians desperately need transparent institutions, an independent judiciary, a free press, functioning checks and balances, and leaders who answer to the public rather than rule indefinitely by presidential decree. None of that exists under the PA in the West Bank or under Hamas in Gaza. Abbas, now 91, is serving the 21st year of a four-year presidential term that began in 2005. For decades, both Fatah and Hamas have systematically prevented the emergence of alternative leadership. Both bear responsibility for widespread human rights abuses, political repression, arbitrary arrests of opponents, media intimidation, and corruption. Instead of building democratic institutions, they have built systems designed to preserve their own power. Public opinion surveys over the past two years have repeatedly shown that Hamas remains one of the most popular political forces in Palestinian society and, in many cases, enjoys greater support than Abbas's Fatah faction. New elections could once again hand victory to Hamas. Such a result would strengthen an Iran-backed terrorist group that openly seeks Israel's destruction, rejects peace, and continues to advocate armed jihad (holy war).