RAMALLAH, November 23, 2017 (WAFA) – The Central Elections Commission (CEC) said on Thursday that it is technically ready to hold general elections at any time determined by the political level.

The CEC’s statement came in response to the decision of the Palestinian factions who met in Cairo over the past two days to call for presidential and legislative elections in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem before the end of 2018.

The CEC welcomed the factions’ call for holding general elections before the end of next year, considering that “election is the right of Palestinians to choose their representatives and an important step towards ending the internal political division and achieving national reconciliation.”

The factions left it up to President Mahmoud Abbas to set a date for the elections following consultations with the various political and civic powers in the Palestinian territory.

Fatah movement’s top reconciliation negotiator, Azzam al-Ahmad, told Voice of Palestine radio on Tuesday that even though the factions set the date for elections before the end of next year, it does not mean elections have to wait until then to be held. He said elections could be held in the middle of next year or even earlier if all goes well.

M.K.