IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Palestinian Territories

Palestinian Territories

5,186,790
Population (as of Feb. 8, 2019)

1,341,671
Registered Voters (as of Aug. 1, 2005)

75.56%
Average Turnout

2
Elections in our database

V-Dem Score: N/A

CEDAW Status: Ratified
Ratified Date: April 2, 2014

SIGI* Score: 51.0
Level of Discrimination: Very High
*Social Institutions and Gender Index (2023)

CRPD Status: Ratified
Ratified Date: April 2, 2014

HDI* Score: 0.674
Category: Medium
*UNDP Human Development Index (2023)

Name	Official Name	Type
Palestinian Presidency	None	Head of State
Palestinian Legislative Council		Assembly

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Mahmoud ABBAS (since 14 October 2008)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Mohammed MUSTAFA (since 12 September 2024) **
Assembly: Palestine has a unicameral Palestinian Legislative Council with 132 seats.

** The Prime Minister is not required to be a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 4-year term.
Prime Minister is appointed by the president.
In the Palestinian Legislative Council 132 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms. The threshold is 1.5 percent. The allocation formula is Sainte-Lague. There is one nationwide district. This system replaced a parallel system (closed-list PR and MNTV/block vote) under a 2007 Presidential decree.

Note: population data encompasses both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Elections

2006-01-25
Palestinian Legislative Council
Votes 1,042,424
Registered 1,341,671
Turnout 77.7

2005-01-09
Palestinian Presidency
Votes 802,077
Registered 1,092,407
Turnout 73.42

Election For	Date	Votes	Registered Voters	Turnout
Palestinian Legislative Council	2006-01-25	1,042,424	1,341,671	77.7
Palestinian Presidency	2005-01-09	802,077	1,092,407	73.42

Voter Turnout

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