Palestinian factions to meet in Egypt on elections

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestinian factions will meet in Egypt within a week for talks on mechanisms for the conduct of elections, electoral commission chief Hanna Nasir said on Saturday.

On Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree to set the dates for holding the Palestinian general elections.

“We are waiting for a meeting of Palestinian factions to resolve all problems,” Nasir told a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

"Any problem will be solved within a week,” he said. “If not, we will find a solution from our side."

On Monday, Abbas amended the Palestinian elections law of 2007 to allow the holding of three elections - the legislative, presidential and PLO’s National Council elections - successively.

Earlier this month, Palestinian group Hamas said it has agreed to hold the polls on a succession basis after it long insisted on conducting the elections on parallel grounds.

The last Palestinian presidential election was held in 2005, while the parliamentary polls were held in 2006.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara