Palestinian president restores parliament to 132 seats, reverses expansion

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday issued a decree restoring the number of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament) to 132, reversing a law enacted in June that expanded the legislature to 200 members. The Palestinian Central Elections Commission said it received the new decree, which repeals the previous amendment while reinstating parts of the original election law alongside several new changes based on the commission’s recommendations. The new decree retains several provisions introduced in June, including lowering the minimum age for parliamentary candidates from 28 to 23, requiring women to comprise at least 33% of candidates on electoral lists and maintaining a 1% electoral threshold. It also preserves a requirement that electoral lists commit to the umbrella Palestine […]