Palestinians in Gazi are voting in local elections for the first time in two decades on Saturday, and in the West Bank voters are casting their ballots for the first time since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Turnout may reflect the level of public trust in the broader system run by senior leaders West coast, while Gaza prepares for the expected transition of Hamas from power.
The vote in the West Bank will determine the composition of local councils that oversee water, roads and electricity. The vote in one Gaza city, on the other hand, is largely symbolic, with officials calling it a "pilot project."
Some polling stations in the West Bank and in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza were full of people on Saturday morning.
Voters who turned out said they did so because they wanted to exercise their right to vote and influence the situation in their cities. Khalid al-Kawasmeh, a voter in the West Bank city of Beituniya, told the AP that people are voting out of hope for change as infrastructure and public services are crumbling.
"Municipal laws must be enforced so that people feel that there is justice," Kawasme said outside his polling station after his finger was marked blue as a sign that he had voted.
Although it has not held presidential or legislative elections since 2006, the Palestinian Authority has promoted local elections following reforms it implemented last year at the request of the international community.
Under the slogan "We Remain," the Ramallah-based Central Election Commission campaigned to encourage the participation of nearly 70.000 eligible voters in Deir al-Balah in Gaza and a million in the West Bank.
The vote "reflects the will of the Palestinian people to stay on their land and develop their land," said its spokesman Farid Tamalah.
Source: AP
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