The head of the Palestinian National Council will be interim president of the Palestinian Authority if the position falls vacant

The president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas, issued a constitutional declaration this Wednesday in which he announced that, in the event that the position becomes vacant, it will be occupied on an interim basis by the president of the Palestinian National Council (PNC). ), the legislative body of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Thus, Abbas has stipulated that the president of the CNP would hold office for a maximum period of 90 days until new “free and direct” elections are held and in accordance with the Palestinian Electoral Law. In the event that the elections could not be held “due to force majeure”, the decision could be extended but for a maximum of another 90 days, according to the Wafa agency.

Abbas is now 89 years old, so this decision could be interpreted as a maneuver to pave the way for his possible succession. The current president of the CNP is Rawhi Fattú, former president of the Palestinian Legislative Council – the Palestinian Parliament – and who already served as interim president of the PA after the death of Yasir Arafat in November 2004.