US EditionPalestinians Vote in First Gaza Election in 20 Years
Around 70,000 voters in Gaza’s only participating city are choosing local councils as Fatah seeks to rebuild legitimacy and Hamas stays off the ballot.
- 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.
158 Articles
158 Articles
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 …
Palestinians vote in local elections in West Bank and part of Gaza
Palestinians are voting in local elections, the first in two decades in Gaza and the first in the occupied West Bank since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The turnout for Saturday's vote for village and municipal councils was near…
Gaza holds first elections in 20 years amid stalled ceasefire process – but only in one city
By Mohammad Al-Sawalhi, Abeer Salman, Oren Liebermann, CNN Deir al-Balah, Gaza/Jerusalem (CNN) — Gaza held its first elections in more than 20 years on Saturday – but only in one city for a small fraction of the shattered territory’s population – amid a stalled process to advance the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The elections took place in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, one of the areas that suffered the least dest…
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