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The Palestinian government has announced a date for local and municipal elections for October 8th, 2016, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) has said. The elections will include 414 local bodies, which are defined by the Palestinian Central Elections Commission as local government units within specific administrative geographic areas. The bodies regulate water services, building permits, and markets.
The elections will mark the first time since 2004-2005 local elections will be held throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Local elections were held in the West Bank in 2012, but Hamas boycotted the elections and accused the Palestinian security forces of following their members’ movements. This time, Hamas, while initially hesitant [Ar], has decided not to boycott the elections. According to analysts, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party are considered weak, and Hamas may see an opportunity to gain legitimacy and expand their influence by defeating their long-standing political rivals. The group issued a statement, saying it “is keen to fix the Palestinian situation, consolidate the principle of partnership and assume national responsibility in this delicate phase and this national cause that our people are going through.” The statement also emphasized it was “essential to hold local elections and renew the bodies in the West Bank and Gaza based on the free will of the people.” The statement did not officially indicate that Hamas would take part in elections, but Khalil al-Hayya, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said in a speech in Gaza City that Hamas had “clearly announced that we will take part in the local council elections in Gaza and the West Bank no matter the circumstances.”
Hamas won a majority of 34 of the 68 local bodies in the West Bank and four of seven in the Gaza Strip in the 2004-2005 elections, which were the group’s first foray into electoral politics.
Brookings’ fellow Khaled Elgindy stressed that “a boycott by Hamas would likely have further entrenched the political and geographic division between the Fatah-dominated West Bank and Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip,” and said that Hamas’ participation prevents another “internal crisis in Palestinian politics.” Elgindy also underscored that elections “will do nothing to address the deeper problems facing Palestinians in the occupied territories.” Yet, Omar Shaban, who heads the PalThink for Strategic Studies in Gaza, cautioned that “the chances of holding the elections in Gaza are slim.” He noted that Hamas and the PA disagree on how the election will be held, and warned that if Hamas refused to participate “Palestinians would be disappointed, as it would widen the gap between the [West Bank authorities] and Hamas-controlled local bodies in Gaza.”
