Palestine ready to hold elections soon: PM

Ramallah, Oct 12 Palestine is ready to hold "free and democratic" elections as soon as possible, said Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye.

"We will go to a national celebration when we hold our democratic elections in order to restore our national institution," Xinhua news agency quoted Ishtaye as saying on Sunday while participating in the olive harvest season celebrations in Ramallah.

"All the Palestin will meet under our parliament in true national unity, as it was in the past, under the framework of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in order to establish the Palestinian state on the ground," he added.

Palestine's general elections are scheduled to be held between February and March 2021.

They were originally scheduled to be held in 2014 in accordance with the Fatah-Hamas Gaza Agreement signed in the same year.

However, the elections were then delayed indefinitely.

In October 2017, Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation deal in which Hamas agreed to dissolve the unity government in Gaza and hold general elections by the end of 2018, but the elections again were not held.

( With inputs from IANS )