Everything about The President Of The Palestinian National Authority totally explained
The
President of the Palestinian National Authority is the highest-ranking political position (equivalent to
head of state) in the
Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
The President appoints the
Prime Minister of the Palestinian National Authority from the
Palestinian Legislative Council, with whom he shares power.
The term
The
Arabic term
ra'ees or
ra'is (رئيس) can be translated to English as either "president" or "chairman". As the status of
Palestine as a political entity is controversial, the use of the term "
President" to describe the leader of the Palestinian government is controversial to some, as its use may be seen to imply a recognition of state sovereignty. The use of the term "Chairman" is controversial for the opposite reason -- its use may be seen to imply
denial of Palestinian aspirations for statehood.
(External Link
)
The Arabic term was used in the English text of the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
(External Link), part of the
Oslo accords which established the PNA. In practice, when referring to the
ra'ees in English documents and statements, the PNA uses the term "president", whereas Israel uses "chairman".
The
United States, in its role as peace broker, uses several different terms according to context. News releases from its embassy in Israel refer to the PNA "chairman"; press briefings in Washington use "president"; both occasionally avoid the issue with "Palestinian leader". The international English-language press mostly (but not always) follows the Palestinian terminology. Israeli press refers to the leader variously as "ra'ees", "president", "chairman" or by name alone.
A letter delivered from Chairman Arafat to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as part of the Gaza-Jericho agreement affirmed that "When Chairman Arafat enters the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area, he'll use the title 'Chairman (Ra'ees in Arabic) of the Palestinian Authority' or 'Chairman of the PLO', and won't use the title 'President of Palestine.'"
Election and Term of Office
The President is elected directly by the Palestinian people for a four year term.
Powers and Responsiblities
- Commander-in-Chief of the Palestinian Forces
- Sends and receives all foreign ambassadors
- Veto bills within 30 days of passage with 2/3 majority needed to over turn veto
- May grant pardons or commute sentences but not general amnesty
- If Legislative Council isn't in session, in exceptional cases, can issues decrees with force of law, but decrees must be presented to Legislative Council as soon as convened for approval or cease to have force of law
- Appoints the Prime Minister and may remove him
- Order the Prime Minister to call together the Council of Ministers
- No right to dissolve the Legislative council and call for early elections.
Oath of Office
Before assuming the office, the President shall take the following oath before the Legislative Council, and in the presence of the Speaker of the Palestinian National Council, the Chief of Supreme Court:
» I swear to God almighty to be faithful to the Homeland and to its sacred places, and to the people and its national heritage, and to respect the Constitutional system and the law, and to safeguard the interests of the Palestinian people completely, as God is my witness
Vacancy
The office of the President shall be considered vacant in any of the following cases:
Death
Resignation submitted to the Palestinian Legislative Council if accepted by two thirds of its Members
Considered legally incompetent, as per a ruling issued by the Supreme Constitutional Court, and subsequently approved by two thirds of the Palestinian Legislative Council
If the office of the President of the National Authority becomes vacant due to any of the above cases, the Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council shall assume the powers and duties of the Presidency of the National Authority, temporarily for a period not exceeding (60) sixty days, during which free and direct elections to choose a new president shall take place in accordance with the Palestinian Election Law
Yasser Arafat (5 July 1994 - 11 November 2004)
Rauhi Fattouh (11 November 2004 - 15 January 2005) (acting)
Mahmoud Abbas (15 January 2005 - Present)
History
Yasser Arafat was the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and became the Palestinian National Authority's first president when the governing body was created in 1994. His rule was validated by an election on January 20, 1996, but future elections were suspended. Arafat remained president until his death on 11 November 2004, at which point Palestinian house speaker Rauhi Fattouh assumed most of Arafat's duties and became interim president. However, he never formally assumed the title. New elections were held in January 2005, and won by Mahmoud Abbas.
Further Information
Get more info on 'President Of The Palestinian National Authority'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://president_of_the_palestinian_national_authority.totallyexplained.com">President of the Palestinian National Authority Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
