A simple review of events over the past few weeks leads me to conclude that the efforts to cancel the Palestinian elections were led by two people: Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh and Jamil Mezher, Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. These efforts disregarded the hopes of millions of Palestinians who had waited two decades and welcomed this democratic opportunity. It would have allowed them to participate in the political system by exercising their most basic right: electing their representatives to the Legislative Council and making their voices heard after years of being silenced. All these Palestinians have the right to hold accountable those who closed this door. Why were they once again denied the right to choose? And how can those who pushed for cancellation guarantee that the conditions they cited as justification will change by the new election date? I find it difficult to see what happened as anything other than putting the interests of those who benefit from the status quo ahead of the public interest. Those who made this decision, or pushed for it, bear political responsibility before a people who were waiting for a chance to bring about peaceful change. The right to vote is not a favor granted by anyone. It must not remain hostage to the calculations of those who fear the people’s choice.