Ramallah- A “constitutional declaration” issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on Wednesday evening, sparked controversy, widespread reactions, and legal and political reservations, indicating an “unconstitutional” conflation between the Palestinian Authority, the PLO, and their institutions.
The Constitutional Declaration stipulates that “in the event that the position of President of the Palestinian Authority is vacant, the President of the Palestinian National Council (currently Rawhi Fattouh) shall assume his duties temporarily, until presidential elections are held in accordance with the Palestinian Election Law.”
In statements reported by the official Palestinian News Agency (Wafa), Ahmed Majdalani, a member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, described the declaration as “a wise and courageous step to preserve the stability of the Palestinian political system,” and that it “represents a guarantee for the peaceful and democratic transfer of power, and the protection and preservation of the homeland.”
Abbas’s temporary successor has become known!!
Abbas issues a “constitutional declaration” stating that “in the event that the position of President of the Authority becomes vacant, the Speaker of the National Council will assume his duties temporarily until the presidential elections are held.”
What is meant is Rawhi Fattouh, who has little value among the wings of Fatah, which means that the conflict remains wide open.… pic.twitter.com/C9ogMJbMHK
– Yasser Al-Zaatreh (@YZaatreh) November 27, 2024
What does the constitution say?
The Palestinian Basic Law stipulates that the President of the Palestinian National Authority be elected “by general and direct election by the Palestinian people in accordance with the provisions of the Palestinian Election Law.”
It also stipulates that in the event of a vacancy in the position of President of the National Authority, “the President of the Palestinian Legislative Council shall temporarily assume the duties of presidency of the National Authority for a period not exceeding 60 days, during which free and direct elections will be held to elect a new president in accordance with the Palestinian Election Law.”
But the Legislative Council, in which Hamas won most of its seats in the last general elections held in 2006, was dissolved by a decision of the Constitutional Court in late 2018.
According to legal expert Bilal Barghouti, the text of the constitutional declaration announced by the Palestinian President “does not have any legal basis or reference.”
In explaining the concept further, he said – to Tel Aviv Tribune Net – that constitutional declarations are “decisions taken based on the constitution and the reference is derived immediately and directly from the Basic Law, and they are taken by the person with constitutional authority in accordance also with the provisions of the constitution.”
He stated that “the president’s powers are exclusively defined in the Basic Law, and the principle – according to the Basic Law – is that the President’s duties are literally assumed by the President of the Legislative Council, and in the absence of a President of the Legislative Council, he is the President of the Constitutional Court, and therefore any announcement that contradicts this subject cannot be considered A legally and constitutionally sound declaration.”
Barghouti, who worked for years in the Palestinian Legislative Council, adds that the term “constitutional declaration” suggests that there are amendments to the Basic Law so that it becomes a constitution, “and this is contrary to the Basic Law.”
Barghouti did not rule out that the announcement would come in response to pressure to reform the Palestinian political system or within the framework of internal house arrangement, in anticipation of any event such as the death of the president, “but unfortunately, the response in the political system is not in accordance with the Basic Law.”
The legal expert pointed out that the dissolution of the Legislative Council in 2018 came “in a way that differs in its validity and extent of constitutionality.”
Between reform and exclusivity
For his part, political analyst Omar Assaf, speaking to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, says that the declaration is “unconstitutional, because the president himself lacks any legal, consensual, struggle, or electoral legitimacy. Rather, he derives his legitimacy from external support, security, media, and official Arab support.”
The president is elected – in accordance with the Palestinian Basic Law – directly by the people for a period of 5 years, which may be renewed once, and the election law regulates the provisions for his election. The last Palestinian elections were held in 2005, in which President Abbas won.
Regarding his explanation for the issuance of the announcement at this time, Assaf put forward several estimates, the most important of which is the president’s health situation, “which is already deteriorating, and he may be exposed to pressure due to the need to prepare the political situation to prevent any future conflict with the Speaker of the Legislative Council, as he is more deserving of the position in the event that the position of president becomes vacant.”
He pointed out that the dissolution of the Legislative Council “came through a court originally formed for this function,” and thus the announcement was made to avoid any conflict.
The other assessment, according to Assaf, is that the constitutional declaration “came in the context of arrangements between the currents, visions, and differences within the ranks of the Fatah movement, which is headed by the president.”
He also did not rule out that the announcement came in the context of talk about the next day in Gaza, “and there is talk of American, Israeli and Arab pressure to issue a decree to form the administrative committee that Washington wants in the Gaza Strip.”
The Palestinian analyst continues that the announcement, regardless of its justifications and contexts, falls within the category of “the continuation of turning their backs and the absence of the people from participating in electing those who will lead them and be responsible for them, in light of polls that give the president and his team only very small percentages.”
Assaf points out a confusion of cards between the organization and the authority, “because the president of the Legislative Council is supposed to assume the presidency” as an institution of the authority, and not the National Council emanating from the organization.
He concluded that the ultimate goal is “for an individual or group not exceeding the fingers of one hand to remain in control of the Palestinian decision, far from the forces, activities, institutions, and any popular participation.”
Undermining constitutional rules
In an article he published and a copy of which was sent to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Palestinian lawyer Salah Ali Musa said that “it is not permissible from a constitutional standpoint to confuse the references of the Palestine Liberation Organization with the Palestinian National Authority,” adding that the president’s announcement “represents undermining the most basic constitutional rules upon which the constitutional system has settled.” in political systems in the world.
He continued that the Constitutional Declaration “found the foundations for transferring power in an unconstitutional manner to a location that has no legal legitimacy in accordance with the Palestinian Basic Law (…) and the foundations for blocking the right of the Palestinian people to choose their president through the ballot box.”
He continued, “The Constitutional Declaration indicates that whoever will occupy the position of President of the Palestinian National Authority is the President of the Palestinian National Council, and this sends legal and political messages, related to who will only be President of the Palestinian National Authority, not President of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and not President of the State of Palestine.”
He concluded, “The Constitutional Declaration is tantamount to an amendment to the Palestinian Basic Law. A constitutional declaration may not amend a Basic Law (…) nor can the President amend the Basic Law.”