More than a thousand figures refuse appointment and demand democratic elections for the National Council
More than a thousand Palestinian figures have signed a petition demanding democratic elections for the Palestinian National Council and rejecting appointment. The petition, launched by the National Body for Palestinian Popular Action, affirms that the Palestinian people are the source of legitimacy and calls for renewing national unity through the ballot box, while emphasizing the representation of the diaspora.
More than a thousand Palestinian figures have signed a popular petition demanding democratic elections for the Palestinian National Council and categorically rejecting the use of appointment as an alternative to elections in national representation institutions. The petition, launched by the National Body for Palestinian Popular Action in August under the title "No legitimacy by appointment, no representation without election," affirms that the Palestinian people are the source of national legitimacy and that elections are the only way to renew legitimacy and build national unity based on popular participation. The signatories, distributed across several countries including Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Britain, Lebanon, Sweden, Qatar, Germany, and Denmark, in addition to participants from refugee camps and Palestinian cities, emphasized the centrality of diaspora representation and rejected monopoly, political exclusion, and any internal or external guardianship. The list includes a elite of academics, media figures, writers, doctors, engineers, lawyers, activists, and national leaders, including Mustafa Barghouti, Dakhil Khalfan, Hassan Khreisheh, Moin Taher, Salah Salah, Ahmed Ghneim, Areeb Rantawi, Majed al-Zeer, Sami al-Arian, Omar Assaf, Mohsen Saleh, Osama Abu Arshid, Nawaf al-Takrouri, Ziad al-Abbas, Firas Abu Hilal, Ali Huwaidi, Bassam Badarin, Zaher al-Birawi, Hossam al-Dajani, and Moin Naim. The petition calls for organizing the Palestinian house and rebuilding PLO institutions through comprehensive elections that put an end to the policy of appointment and exclusion.