Deir Al Bala, Gaza/Jerusalem —
As the process to advance a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas stalls, Gaza held its first elections in more than 20 years on Saturday, but only in one city targeting a small portion of the shattered territory’s population.
The election was held in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. The area is one of the least destroyed areas in Israel’s nearly two years of bombing of the enclave. Municipal elections held under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority also took place in the occupied West Bank amid perceived widespread disillusionment with the ruling Fatah party.
In Gaza, some 70,000 voters, less than 5 percent of the population, were eligible to vote in an election that was seen as largely symbolic. This is the first election to be held in the region since Hamas took power in 2006.
“Honestly, as a Palestinian and a son of the Gaza Strip, I am proud that the democratic process is returning after this war,” 52-year-old voter Mamdouh Albaisi told Reuters. “I am very happy and I hope that everyone will participate and contribute to the success of this great democratic celebration.”
Jamil al-Khalidi, regional director of the Palestinian Election Commission, said the elections in the Gaza Strip took place despite major challenges, including a lack of suitable polling stations and a shortage of ballot boxes. He told CNN that many of the schools that were supposed to be polling places were destroyed in Israeli attacks, forcing election officials to use tents instead.
“We were determined to hold elections and find the necessary alternatives to ensure the success of the electoral process,” Al Khalidi said.
Hamas was formally excluded from participating in Saturday’s local elections after the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) asked political parties and candidates running to accept certain promises, including recognition of Israel and support for a two-state solution. But the poll results and turnout are expected to help gauge Hamas’ popularity after two years of war.
Despite not drawing up an official list of candidates, Hamas police forces secured polling stations in Deir al-Balah and surrounded each location with armed guards.
“Holding municipal elections in Deir al-Balah is a positive and important step,” Hamas spokesman Hazem Qasem said on Saturday, calling for presidential and parliamentary elections, which have also not been held in 20 years. “We consider[local elections]an important and necessary step, and we want them to be expanded to all governorates in the Gaza Strip.”
Results are expected to be announced as early as Saturday night or Sunday.
This election was also an opportunity for the Palestinian Authority to hold elections in both the West Bank and Gaza and demonstrate its plan for unified governance over both areas. Fatah-led authorities have held no real power in Gaza since being ousted by Hamas nearly two decades ago.
“Today’s election is not only important for democratic governance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, but it is also important that[the Central Elections Committee]was able to hold an election in Deir al-Balah, where the displaced and impoverished population has not voted in 20 years,” said Sarah Johnson, director of the Democracy Program at the Carter Center, a nonprofit organization that monitors elections around the world. “The inclusion of Gaza is the basis for any credible path towards national self-determination and for affirming the national and territorial unity necessary on the political horizon.”
Many voters saw the election as an opportunity to express Palestinian aspirations for self-determination and a path forward, especially after Israel’s bombing of Gaza destroyed much of the territory. A reformed Palestinian Authority is also a key part of the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, and elections are seen as a key element of reform.
“God willing, our hope in this election is that it reaffirms Palestinian nationalism, prevents the erasure of Palestinian identity, and strengthens our connection to this land, our roots, and our ancestors,” said Mohammed Salman, 56, who voted on Saturday.
Last week, senior U.S. government adviser Aryeh Lightstone met with Hamas’ chief negotiator Khalil al-Haya in Cairo as the Trump administration sought to advance a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But progress has stalled on the next steps to the deal, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of international forces to Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, some Palestinians viewed municipal elections with deep skepticism. The last municipal elections in the West Bank to decide who is responsible for running local services were held in 2022. However, in major cities such as Ramallah and Nablus, the only candidates listed were those from the Fatah party, which has dominated the PA since its inception.
90-year-old Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has not held a presidential election in more than 20 years.
Mahmoud Freibat, a prominent Palestinian journalist, described the election as a “wedding without a groom.” “This scene in Ramallah has disappointed those who expected to feel the pulse of the election. The celebration of democracy has turned out to be incomplete, callous and soulless,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Israel does not recognize Palestinian local elections in East Jerusalem. Huda al-Imam, a prominent Palestinian activist from East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah district, said on Facebook that “the elections risk becoming a mere formality rather than a genuine democratic process that reflects the will and choices of the people” and “does not address the grave and urgent circumstances that shape our tragic daily lives under the crimes of occupation.”
