Palestinians in central Gaza and the occupied West Bank began voting in municipal elections on Saturday, marking the first local vote since the start of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.
Polling stations opened at 7am (04:00 GMT) for 70,000 eligible voters in Gaza's Deir el-Balah area – the first electoral exercise in the besieged enclave in 20 years. The vote in a single city is largely symbolic, with officials calling it a "pilot". Deir el-Balah was selected because it is one of the few areas in Gaza not destroyed by Israeli forces.
Nearly 1.5 million registered voters in the occupied West Bank are also voting to determine the makeup of local councils overseeing water, roads and electricity. The elections come amid a tightly restricted political landscape and deep public disillusionment, as the Palestinian Authority (PA) seeks to project reform and legitimacy amid growing frustration over corruption, political stagnation and the absence of national elections since 2006.
Most electoral lists are backed by President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement or independent candidates, with no official participation from Hamas, which controls parts of Gaza. With much of Gaza decimated by more than two years of war, the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission chose to hold its first vote in Deir el-Balah. It had to improvise because it was unable to conduct traditional voter registration.
"The main idea is to link the West Bank and Gaza politically as one system," its spokesperson, Fareed Taamallah, said. The commission has not coordinated directly with either Israel or Hamas ahead of the Deir el-Balah vote and has been unable to send materials like ballot papers, ballot boxes or ink into Gaza, he added.
Though Palestinian voter turnout has gradually decreased, it has been relatively high in past local elections by regional standards, according to commission figures, averaging between 50 and 60 percent. Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 and seized control of Gaza from the Fatah-led PA a year later. It did not put forth candidates for Saturday, but polling indicates it remains the most popular Palestinian faction in both Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, called the elections "an important opportunity for Palestinians to exercise their democratic rights during an exceptionally challenging period".
Hamas controls half of Gaza, including Deir el-Balah, but the coastal enclave is preparing to transition to a new governance structure under US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan. The plan established a Board of Peace composed of international envoys and a committee of unelected Palestinians, intended to operate under it. Progress towards further phases, including disarming Hamas, reconstruction and a transfer of power, has stalled.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, 90, signed a decree last year to overhaul the electoral system in line with some demands from Western donors. The reforms allow voting for individuals rather than party lists, lowering the eligibility age to run and raising quotas for female candidates. In January, another Abbas decree required candidates to accept the programme of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which calls for the recognition of Israel and renouncing armed struggle, effectively sidelining Hamas and other factions.
The slates in major West Bank cities are dominated by Fatah and independents, some with ties to other factions. It marks the first time in six local elections that no other faction has officially put forward its own slates. In the occupied West Bank, the PA exercises limited autonomy, and local councils oversee services from rubbish collection to building permits. Votes are being held in villages in Area C, which covers about 60 percent of the West Bank and remains under direct Israeli control.
Votes will also be held in municipalities that Israel's military has occupied since it launched a ground invasion in the northern West Bank last year. Campaign posters have been plastered across cities, though many – including Ramallah and Nablus – will not hold elections because too few candidates or slates registered. The PA's power has withered amid years without peace negotiations with Israel and the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Source: www.aljazeera.com