Hamas leadership vote heads to run-off between Meshaal and al-Hayya
Hamas sources told Al Jazeera the group will hold a run-off next week to choose a new political bureau chief after wartime assassinations.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Hamas is expected to hold a run-off election next week to choose the next head of its political bureau, Al Jazeera reported, citing Hamas sources. The vote will decide who replaces a wartime transitional leadership formed after Israel killed several senior figures, including Ismail Haniyeh and Yahya Sinwar.
A Hamas source told Al Jazeera that the contest has narrowed to Khaled Meshaal, a former political bureau chief, and Khalil al-Hayya, a former deputy chairman. The winner would serve until 2027, when the group is due to hold another round of elections, according to the report.
The decision comes during Israel’s continuing war and follows months of disruption inside Hamas’s leadership ranks. Al Jazeera reported that a temporary council has been running the group since Sinwar was killed in Gaza in October 2024.
Run-off follows inconclusive voting
Under Hamas rules described to Al Jazeera, a candidate needs an absolute majority in the Shura Council, the group’s consultative body, to win outright. A Hamas source said earlier rounds did not give either candidate the required 50 percent plus one vote, leading to the planned run-off.
The same source said Hamas’s 2021 framework requires the two top political posts to include a representative from Gaza. Hamas divides its political organisation into three regions: Gaza, the West Bank and the diaspora. Al-Hayya represents Gaza, and if he does not win the top job, he is expected to become deputy political chief, the source told Al Jazeera.
A second Hamas source told Al Jazeera that the group has not used its usual broad voting process involving its wider base. The source said war-related security constraints and vacancies in the Shura Council caused by deaths of members forced a narrower vote to finish the electoral term that began in 2021.
That source rejected reports that Hamas was moving toward a hidden or collective leadership model, according to Al Jazeera. The source said the group plans to announce the new chief publicly once the voting process is complete.
Leadership reshaped by assassinations
Al Jazeera reported that Hamas’s current framework dates to internal elections in early 2021, when Haniyeh was chosen as overall political bureau chief, Sinwar was re-elected to lead Gaza and Meshaal became head of the diaspora wing.
Israel assassinated Haniyeh in Tehran in July 2024, according to Al Jazeera. Hamas then named Sinwar as his successor in August 2024. After Sinwar was killed in a clash with Israeli forces in Rafah in October 2024, Hamas formed a five-member temporary leadership council, nominally headed by Qatar-based official Mohammad Darwish, the outlet reported.
Palestinian political analyst Abdullah Aqrabawi told Al Jazeera that Hamas’s internal leadership changes now draw wider regional and international attention because of the group’s role since the October 7, 2023, attacks. Analyst Wissam Afifa told Al Jazeera that Hamas has relied on emergency procedures and backup leadership layers to keep functioning despite the loss of senior figures.
Ceasefire talks could be affected
The outcome may shape how Hamas manages ceasefire negotiations, according to Al Jazeera. Al-Hayya has been closely involved in negotiations from regional hubs including Qatar, while Meshaal has not held the same direct role in those talks over the past year, the outlet reported.
A Hamas source told Al Jazeera that an al-Hayya victory could lead to changes in the committees handling ceasefire talks. If Meshaal wins, the existing negotiation structure is expected to remain in place, with al-Hayya continuing to oversee the Gaza file and the wider negotiating team, according to the source.
Both Hamas sources told Al Jazeera that preparations for wider grassroots elections across Gaza, the West Bank and the diaspora are expected to begin next year, depending on security conditions. The next leader will also face decisions over post-war reconstruction and relations with other Palestinian factions, including Fatah, Al Jazeera reported.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.