US EditionPalestinians Vote in First Gaza Election in 20 Years
The vote is seen as a test of Hamas support and a step toward restoring local governance, with nearly 1.5 million eligible voters across the territories.
- On Saturday, April 25, 2026, residents in Deir al-Balah cast ballots in municipal elections, marking Gaza's first local vote in 20 years. The Central Elections Commission oversaw the process at 12 polling centres for approximately 70,000 eligible voters.
- The Palestinian Authority selected Deir al-Balah for this pilot vote because the city sustained less infrastructural damage than other areas, aiming to restore local governance and link the West Bank and Gaza as one political system.
- CEC regional director Jamil al-Khalidi noted organizers adopted exceptional measures, including relying on civil registry data instead of traditional voter lists due to displacement and loss of records. The system uses closed electoral lists requiring at least 15 candidates, with a minimum quota of four women.
- Candidate Faten Harb emphasized improving water and sanitation services, while skeptical residents view the vote as disconnected from daily survival. Analysts see the vote as a symbolic step toward restoring local legitimacy amid broader political fragmentation.
- Success in Deir al-Balah could pave the way for similar elections elsewhere in Gaza, potentially bolstering the PA's claim to govern the territory. However, experts emphasize that limited local voting cannot substitute for a comprehensive national political settlement.
178 Articles
178 Articles
Palestinians in the West Bank and in a small segment of the Gaza Strip voted this Saturday to elect mayors and councillors, in the first elections since the beginning of the war in Palestinian territory, in a lawsuit marked by low participation and widespread discouragement. 'I need to constantly watch my children': Rats, fleas and parasites proliferate in displaced camps in Gaza Study: Reconstruction of Gaza will demand about R$ 355 billion in …
The participation in the local elections held this Saturday in the West Bank and in a town in the Gaza Strip reached 53.4%, on a day that took place without serious incidents although in an environment of tension due to the alleged violence of settlers who claim to suffer the Palestinian villages.While the locals feared that the settlers could boycott the elections, finally only a few incidents were reported in the Toubas and Nablus governorates…
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Most of the lists were aligned with the Fatah, the nationalist party of President Mahmoud Abbas, in power since 2005, or without a label. None of them claimed Hamas.
Palestinians in the West Bank and central Gaza Strip voted in municipal elections on Saturday.
For the first time since the Gaza war, Palestinians in the West Bank and in part of the Gaza Strip have re-established their mayors and councillors. Saturday's local elections were marked by low turnout: two hours before the closure of the polling stations in the West Bank, according to the election commission, it was 40.6%, while in the Deir el-Balah area in the Gaza Strip, it was only 21.2 percent.According to the Central Electoral Commission …
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