GAZA, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Hamas, ruling faction of the Gaza Strip, on Monday welcomed the decree issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to form an electoral court ahead of the general elections as "a positive step toward the right direction."
"President Abbas is asked to carry out more practical measures to implement what the Palestinian factions has recently agreed upon in Egypt's capital Cairo, mainly issues related to public freedom," said the Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
"Establishing a status of confidence and safety among the Palestinians would encourage them to participate in the vote with no fear or pressure that would negatively affect the electoral process," he added.
Abbas, also head of the ruling Fatah party, issued on Monday a presidential decree that orders the establishment of an electoral court to resolve the disputes between the Palestinian factions in the electoral process.
In the intra-Palestinian national dialogue that ended in Cairo earlier last month, leaders of 14 factions, including Hamas and Fatah, agreed to hold the general elections as scheduled.
The factions also agreed to set up an electoral court of judges from East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to monitor all matters relating to the electoral process.
The independence of the electoral court has been a central demand by Fatah's rival Hamas, which has expressed concern that Abbas could use a court to revise election results should he lose, political analysts said.
In January, Abbas announced that the 2021 general elections will include legislative elections on May 22, presidential elections on July 31, and the Palestinian National Council elections on Aug. 31.
The last legislative elections in the Palestinian territories were held in January 2006 when Hamas won a majority 74 of the 132 seats. Abbas was elected as the president of the Palestinian Authority in March 2005.
The internal Palestinian division between Hamas and Fatah began in 2007 when Hamas forcibly took over the Gaza Strip from Fatah. Since then, the Palestinian territories have been split into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-dominated West Bank. Enditem
