Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, centre, would stay in power indefinitely is he accepts an election commission proposal to postpone elections planned for January. (Tara Todras-Whitehill/Associated Press)

A week after President Mahmoud Abbas said he would not run in January elections, the Palestinian body responsible for running the election has recommended postponing the vote.

Central Election Commission head Hana Nasser told a news conference on Thursday the board is recommending a postponement of the Jan. 24 vote, which Abbas is expected to accept, according to members of his Fatah party.

Fatah official Nabil Shaath had said Wednesday that a postponement might not be made official until December, however.

The postponement of the vote would invalidate Abbas's threat not to stand for election and likely keep him in office until a new date could be set.

The recommendation would also avoid formalizing the split between his Fatah party, which dominates the West Bank region, and Hamas, the rival militant group that controls the Gaza strip.

Hamas had planned election boycott

Hamas has refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the January elections and will not permit its citizens to vote in them. Nasser said it would be impossible to conduct the vote in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and without participation by all Palestinians, officials believe the election should not take place.

The commission decision buys Palestinian leaders time to agree on when to hold the next elections in the region. An Egyptian reconciliation proposal recommended holding an election in June 2010, but Hamas has refused to sign on to the plan.

Keeping Abbas in power is also likely to ease the concerns of the United States, Israel and regional Arab countries that feared Abbas's decision not to run would undermine efforts at Mideast peace talks. Abbas had reportedly received calls from Israel's president and defence minister, the president of Egypt and the king of Jordan, all asking him to reconsider his decision.

Abbas had blamed the stalemate in peace negotiations with Israel for his decision not to run again, and had been calling for a complete halt of construction to Israel settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, regions seen as key areas in forming a future Palestinian state.

Israel two weeks ago had offered to stop new projects from proceeding, but Abbas said that was insufficient and called for a total halt to construction, including those projects already underway.

With files from The Associated Press