Palestinians lined up outside polling stations set up in tents and donated buildings on Saturday to cast their ballots in the first municipal election held in part of Gaza in more than two decades. Voting also took place across the West Bank.
Election Details
More than 70,000 people were eligible to vote for municipal government in Deir al-Balah, a central Gaza city that has been damaged by airstrikes but was spared an Israeli ground invasion. Election officials described the single-city vote as a largely symbolic pilot, part of an effort to politically link Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinians view both territories as integral to any future path to statehood.
Israeli Restrictions
Israel blocked the entry of election materials such as ballot paper, ballot boxes, and ink into Gaza, according to election officials. The Central Elections Commission repurposed materials, using wooden ballot boxes and blue ink leftover from a vaccination drive last year. The commission said it did not coordinate directly with Israel or Hamas ahead of the vote. COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing humanitarian affairs in Gaza, did not respond to questions about the blockade.
Low Turnout
By 1 p.m. local time, turnout stood at 24.5% in Deir al-Balah and 25.3% in the West Bank, according to official figures. This is significantly lower than the 50% to 60% average turnout in past Palestinian local elections. Voters cited the near-total absence of public services and the devastation in Gaza as reasons for participating. Ashraf Abu Dan said outside his polling place, "I came to vote because I have a right to elect members to the municipal council so they can provide us with services."
Political Context
The Palestinian Authority promoted the local elections after reforms enacted last year in response to demands from international backers. Under the slogan "We Stay," the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission campaigned to encourage participation. Chairman Rami Hamdallah said, "We're talking about geographically linking the West Bank and Gaza Strip." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, 90, cast his ballot in Al-Bireh near Ramallah and stated that eventually elections will be held across Gaza. He said, "Gaza is an inseparable part of the state of Palestine. Therefore, we have worked by all means to ensure that elections take place in Deir al-Balah to affirm the unity of the two parts of the country together."
Candidate Pool
Abbas signed a decree last year reforming elections to allow voting for individuals rather than slates, in line with Western donor demands. A subsequent decree required candidates to accept the Palestine Liberation Organization's program, which calls for recognition of Israel and renouncing armed struggle, effectively sidelining Hamas and other factions. Slates in major cities are dominated by Fatah, the faction leading the Palestinian Authority, and independents. For the first time in six local elections, no faction besides Fatah put forward its own slate, a sign of political disillusionment under Abbas and the authority's aging leadership. In Qalqilya, a West Bank city where no slates registered, Marwan Ennabi said, "This isn't transparency. This is chaos, chaos, chaos!"
Background
Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 and seized control of Gaza from Fatah in 2007. It did not put forward candidates on Saturday, though one slate in Deir al-Balah is widely viewed as aligned with the group. Hamas controls the half of Gaza that Israeli forces withdrew from last year, but the coastal enclave is preparing to transition to a new governance structure under a stalled US plan.
