Palestinians elect West Bank councils in rare democratic exercise

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Voters cast ballots on Saturday for municipal councils in the Israeli-occupied West Bank in a rare democratic exercise following a decade and a half of delays to Palestinian elections.

There was no immediate figure for overall turnout after polls closed at 7 pm (1700 GMT). But three hours earlier, the Central Elections Commission said just 39 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots.

It was the second phase of municipal elections after a first round of voting in December in 154 West Bank villages.

Saturday’s vote was held in 50 towns and cities, with many elections uncontested, or without any candidates in some cases.

Wasfi Ramhi, voting in the city of Al-Bireh, said he hoped it would lead to national elections.

"If they are democratic, fair and free, they will help us to hold legislative and presidential elections," he told AFP.

As he cast his vote in Al-Bireh, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas defended his decision to call off scheduled presidential and legislative elections last year, saying they had to be held in "all the Palestinian territories".

Israel had barred voting from taking place in annexed east al-Quds.

The Islamists had been poised to sweep the parliamentary election, which was widely seen as the real reason for Abbas’s 11th-hour postponement of the poll.

No legislative or presidential elections have been held in the Palestinian territories for 15 years, following repeated delays.

The last municipal elections, held in 2017, were boycotted by Hamas, the Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas is also boycotting this year’s election in protest at the indefinite postponement of parliamentary and presidential elections.

Central Elections Commission chief Hanna Nasser said a number of candidates had been arrested in the lead-up to the vote.

"There are candidates who were arrested before today," Nasser said. "This indicates blatant interference in the election process.

"The arrests were made for political reasons to prevent certain candidates from running in the elections," he told a news conference.

No elections are being held in Gaza or in east al-Quds.