Palestinian Authority to hold first elections in 15 yearsAbbas said in a decree that the parliamentary elections will take place on May 22, and the presidential race will be held on July 31 in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
They will be the first votes of their kind since 2006, when the militant group Hamas won in a resounding victory and set off a clash with Abbas's Fatah Party, thrusting the Palestinian Authority (PA) into a political crisis. Hamas later took control of the Gaza Strip in a bloody fight.
