Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas issued a formal decree Sunday outlining the succession process should the chairman’s position become vacant.
According to the official PA news agency Wafa, deputy chairman Hussein al-Sheikh will temporarily assume leadership of the PA in the absence of the Palestinian Legislative Council.
The decree stipulates that al-Sheikh’s interim term would last up to 90 days, during which direct elections must be held to select a new chairman, in accordance with Palestinian election law.
If elections cannot be held within the designated period due to exceptional circumstances, the Palestinian Central Council may authorize a one-time extension, the decree says.
Hussein al-Sheikh, born in 1960 in Ramallah, has been a prominent figure in PA politics for decades. This past April, he was appointed PA deputy chairman and designated successor by Abbas - a move which was condemned by Hamas, the longtime rival of Abbas’s Fatah faction.