The Palestinian Election Commission says Parliamentary Elections scheduled for July 17th will be delayed because it needs more to prepare for the vote.

Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters protested on the Gaza strip against the court ruling. Their protests follow President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party allegations of fraud, which overturned Hamas victories during the last election.

The election commission, an independent body, said it needed at least two more months from the time the new election law ratified by Abbas on May 18th, to lay the necessary groundwork for the election.

Before the court ruling, an election official disclosed the elections are highly likely to be delayed for logistics reasons.

(CRI.com May 24, 2005)