On Saturday, the Palestinians voted in the West Bank and central Gaza Strip to elect municipal councils, in the first ballot since the outbreak of war, amid limited participation and a climate of popular frustration, with the absence of Hamas lists and the competition being mainly limited to Fatah and independents.
Published on: 04/25/2026 - 07:46 Last updated: 04/25/2026 - 20:31
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On Saturday, Palestinians in the West Bank and central Gaza Strip participated in elections to choose municipal councils, in the first ballot organized since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, amid limited competition and widespread feelings of frustration among citizens.
Most of the electoral lists included candidates from the Fatah movement led by President Mahmoud Abbas or independent figures, while lists linked to the Hamas movement, which ran the Gaza Strip before the outbreak of war in 2023, were absent.
The Central Elections Committee announced, in a statement to Agence France-Presse, that ballot boxes in the West Bank would close at 19:00 (16:00 GMT).
Polls were also closed an hour earlier in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, which is the only area in the Strip that witnessed the voting process.
The Central Elections Committee said that about 1.5 million voters in the occupied West Bank are entitled to cast their votes, in addition to 70,000 voters in Deir al-Balah. She indicated that the participation rate reached 24.53 percent at first in the afternoon (10:00 a.m. GMT).
She said she would hold a press conference later Saturday to announce the results.
During the day, voter turnout was weak in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In most cities, Fatah-backed lists competed with independent lists led by candidates from different factions, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
In the absence of any presidential or legislative elections since 2006, municipal councils have become one of the few democratic institutions that still operate under the administration of the Palestinian Authority.
The European Union considered the elections “an important step towards a broader democratic process and strengthening local governance in general, in line with the ongoing reform process.”
UN Coordinator Ramiz Alakbarov also praised the Election Commission's organization of a "credible process."
The elections in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas has ruled exclusively since 2007, are the first voting process since the legislative elections in 2006, which the movement won.
Most of the electoral lists belong to the Fatah movement led by President Mahmoud Abbas, or to independents. There are no lists affiliated with Hamas, the arch-rival of Fatah, which currently controls about half of the Gaza Strip, while Israeli forces control the other half.
Thousands of police officers participate in securing the elections in the cities and villages of the West Bank, while about 250 policemen affiliated with the Hamas-run Interior Ministry are responsible for securing voting centers in Deir al-Balah, according to security sources.
In most Palestinian cities, lists supported by Fatah compete with independent lists led by candidates from different factions, such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which has a Marxist-Leninist orientation.
France 24/AFP
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