Palestinians vote in local elections on Saturday, including the first poll in Gaza since 2006. Elections are taking place throughout the occupied West Bank, as well as in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where Hamas operates.
Hamas was barred from running, and several other factions have boycotted the election due to a requirement that candidates recognize the authority of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which dominates the Palestinian Authority (PA) that governs the parts of the occupied West Bank not controlled by Israel.
Fatah, the faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas that leads the PLO, was forcefully expelled from Gaza during the last elections, which Hamas won, sparking a power struggle between the two organizations.
According to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission, more than a million voters in the Palestinian territories are eligible to vote, including 70,000 in Deir al-Balah, where 12 polling booths are set to open. Results are expected late Saturday or Sunday. While Hamas was not on the ballot in Deir al-Balah, Reuters reported that one slate of candidates was commonly believed to be affiliated with it.
The center city was chosen as the only Gaza location where polls would be held since it was not as extensively destroyed as other areas during the Israel-Hamas conflict. A tenuous ceasefire is in effect as part of President Trump’s 20-point peace plan, which halted hostilities in October of last year.
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