Two Months Till Abbas's 3rd Anniversary!

That's right: January 2012 will be Mahmoud Abbas's 3rd Anniversary--marking 3 years Abbas has been in office since his term actually ended on January 9, 2009.

Steven J Rosen writes that according to Palestinian law Abbas is no longer president:

Mahmoud Abbas is presenting himself as the president of the Palestine that is pressing the claim in the U.N. General Assembly, but he is not considered to be the president anymore by Hamas, the largest political party in the putative state. And Hamas has Palestine's own laws on its side in this dispute. Abbas was elected in 2005 to serve until January 2009, so his term has expired. In 2009, he unilaterally extended his term for another year until January 2010 (an extension that also has expired), but that extension did not adhere to Article 65 of the Palestinian constitution, the Basic Law. Hamas, which controls a majority in the now defunct Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), opposed the extension. According to Article 65 of the Basic Law, the legally empowered president of Palestine, since January 2009, has been PLC Speaker Abdel Aziz Dweik, a deputy representing Hamas. Palestine's ruling party, Hamas, considers Dweik, not Abbas, to be the legal president of Palestine, and it has a strong case.

As we get ready for Abbas's anniversary in January, the obvious question is:

What does one get a president for his 3rd anniversary of ruling after his term has ended?

Maybe 3 more years?

Technorati Tag: Abbas.