The Palestinian Authority has decided to hold municipal elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in December, for the first time since 2017.
The first phase of the elections will be held on December 11 for 388 municipalities and village councils in the West Bank and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the PA government announced. The second phase of the elections will be held at a later date.
However, it was not clear on Thursday whether Hamas would allow the elections to take place in the Gaza Strip.
In June, the PA government dissolved the elected municipal and village councils after their term expired and turned them into caretaker committees under the supervision of the Ministry of Local Government until new elections are held before the end of the year.
Elections for the PA Parliament and presidency, which were supposed to take place on May 22 and July 30, respectively, were called off by PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Elections for the PLO’s legislative body, the Palestinian National Council, which were scheduled for late August, were also indefinitely postponed.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian Central Elections Commission discussed the PA government’s decision to hold the municipal elections.
The head of the commission, Hanna Nasser said that he sent a letter to PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh informing him that holding elections in the Gaza Strip “requires political approval” from Hamas.
Voter registration for the upcoming elections will take place between October 3 and 7, while candidates will be able to present their candidacy from October 26 to November 4. Electoral campaigning will begin on November 27 and last until December 9, two days before the vote.
The upcoming elections will be the fourth since the establishment of the PA in 1994.
In 2017, Hamas refused to allow the elections to take place in the Gaza Strip on the grounds that it had not been consulted about the decision to hold the vote. Hamas also protested a ruling by the Palestinian Supreme Court ruled that the Hamas-controlled courts in the Gaza Strip did not have jurisdiction to rule on electoral matters.
According to the commission, the percentage of participation in the last municipal elections reached 53.9%, which is very close to the percentage of the 2012 elections of 53.8%.
The 2012 elections were also held without the participation of Hamas. Hamas had boycotted Palestinian elections until 2005, when its candidates scored major achievements.