Overview
- Palestine’s Central Elections Commission, which opened polls Saturday, set up 12 centers and about 100 stations in Deir al-Balah alongside municipal voting across the West Bank.
- Roughly 70,000 people are eligible to vote in Deir al-Balah and about 1.5 million in the West Bank, with most Gaza stations operating in tents, closing at 5 p.m. due to power limits, and running with UNDP-backed facilities, accredited observers, and 675 staff.
- Hamas says it is not taking part and will not block the process, yet residents and analysts widely view one Deir al-Balah list as aligned with the group, and Palestinian sources say Hamas civil police will safeguard sites in plain clothes.
- Election officials describe the Gaza balloting as a test run to link Gaza and the West Bank under one political system, fitting PA reforms and international pressure that includes a U.S.-chaired Board of Peace pushing Hamas to disarm.
- Results are expected late Saturday or on Sunday, and for many residents the stakes are practical as well as political, with hopes for local councils that can improve water, power, and sewage services in a city battered by war.