Palestinian President Abbas calls first parliamentary elections in PLO history

(Patria) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stated that elections for the Palestinian National Council (PNC), the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), will be held on November 1st, the official Wafa news agency reported on Monday, AFP reports.

This is the first time that council members will be elected by direct popular vote, whereas in the past they were appointed or co-opted from within the movement.

Abbas, who is the president of both the Palestinian Authority and the PLO, issued a decree stating: "Elections will be held wherever possible, both inside and outside Palestine, to ensure the widest possible participation of the Palestinian people wherever they live."

The PNC has long served as the parliament of the PLO in exile. It is dominated by Fatah, Abbas's political movement, co-founded by Yasser Arafat, the historic Palestinian leader who died in 2004. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which are not members of the PLO, are not represented in the council.