Hamas Sets Run-Off Vote Next Week for Political Bureau Chief

Hamas will hold a run-off election next week to choose its new political bureau chief between Khaled Meshaal and Khalil al-Hayya. Al Jazeera reported that neither candidate secured the required absolute majority of 50 percent plus one in the Shura Council during initial rounds.

The winner will replace a temporary five-member ruling leadership council established after Yahya Sinwar’s death and will serve until 2027.

The council has been nominally headed by Qatar-based official Mohammad Darwish. A 2021 framework requires the top two leadership positions to include a representative of the Gaza region. If al-Hayya does not win, he is expected to become deputy political chief.

The General Shura Council elects the head of the political bureau. The current electoral term began in 2021, when Ismail Haniyeh was chosen as overall head, Sinwar was re-elected to lead Gaza, and Meshaal was selected to head the diaspora wing. Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran in July 2024.

The Shura Council named Sinwar as his successor in August 2024. Sinwar died during a clash with Israeli forces in Rafah in October 2024. Last September, Israel launched an attack on a residential complex in Doha targeting senior Hamas figures, though the leadership survived.

Al-Hayya has served as Hamas’s main negotiator from regional hubs such as Qatar, while Meshaal has remained largely outside immediate diplomatic portfolios. If al-Hayya wins, structural changes may be introduced to committees handling ceasefire talks. If Meshaal is elected, the negotiation framework will continue as currently structured.