GAZA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior Hamas official said on Wednesday that his movement is ready for holding new Palestinian elections under the conditions that they should be comprehensive.
Khalil al-Hayyah, deputy chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, told reporters that the Palestinian elections must involve parliament, presidency and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
"Hamas is looking forward to agreeing on holding comprehensive elections based on the democratic process away from exclusiveness and selfishness," said al-Hayyah.
He rejected the idea of holding parliamentary elections only, saying it is "electoral selectivity" as 14 years have passed without holding presidential elections.
Last December, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the decision of a Palestinian Constitutional Court to dissolve the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and called for holding parliamentary elections within six months.
Abbas recently held two separate meetings in Ramallah with representatives of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission and asked them to start consultations with the Palestinian factions and prepare for holding the parliamentary elections.
The PLC had remained inoperative since the summer of 2007, when Hamas took over the Gaza Strip after weeks of fighting with Abbas' security forces in the coastal enclave.
The last Palestinian parliamentary elections were held in January 2006, in which Hamas won a majority and ousted Abbas' Fatah Party which had dominated the PLC since 1996.
