The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) has announced its decision to participate in the Palestinian parliamentary election, scheduled for May 22.
In a statement published on Sunday, the PFLP said that its central committee held a meeting after which it decided to run in the elections according to its political program.”
The PFLP stressed that its participation in the elections “does not mean that it is a partner in the consecration of the humiliating and disastrous Oslo Accords.”
“Our participation in the elections is an attempt to adjust the internal balance of power, especially regarding the decision-making process” the statement read.
In 2006, the Front has participated in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) elections and has only won three of the 132 seats.
For his part, Fatah Central Committee Secretary-General Jibril Rajoub said that his group “highly valued” the PFLP’s decision to participate in the parliamentary election.
He expressed hope that the decision would encourage all Palestinians to participate in the “democratic process.”
Last month, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas announced dates for the first Palestinian elections in more than 15 years, setting legislative polls for May 22 and a July 31 presidential vote.
The last Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 saw Hamas win an unexpected landslide.
The polls resulted in a brief unity government but it soon collapsed and in 2007, bloody clashes erupted in the Gaza Strip between the two principal Palestinian factions, with Hamas ultimately seizing control of Gaza.
