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Palestinians Vote In Landmark Municipal Elections
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Palestinians
queue to vote in the first municipal elections since 1976 at a
polling station in Abu Dis. (AFP)
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WEST
BANK, December 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Thousands
of Palestinian voters flocked to polling stations across the West Bank
Thursday, December 23, to cast their ballot in a landmark municipal
elections, the first in almost three decades.
“This
is a first step towards democracy and the establishment of our future
state,” Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei said after voting in
his home village of Abu Dis, near occupied Al-Quds, reported Agence
France Presse (AFP).
He
stressed that the ballots, though held in difficult conditions,
reflect the Palestinians’ keenness to build their future state.
The
polls had been due to close at 7:00 pm (1700 GMT) but voting was
extended for a further two hours as a result of the high turnout,
officials said.
More
than 140,000 electors voted to elect from 886 candidates, including
139 women, to 306 seats in local council for the town of Jericho and
25 villages in the West Bank.
Although
vote counting would finish three hours after the polls closed, the
final results would not be officially announced until Saturday,
December 25.
A
similar vote is to be organized in the Gaza Strip by the end of
January.
Throughout
the past three decades, mayors of the Palestinian communities in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip have been appointed by the Israeli occupation
authority and then by the Palestinian Authority.
Long-time
Dream
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The
voting was extended for two hours after the high turnout (AFP)
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Palestinian
voters have been waiting in long lines at polling stations to cast
their ballots in the first local elections since 1976.
“It
doesn't matter, one or two hours. I'm going to vote. I have been
waiting for this for a long time," Nabil Abu Kattan, farmer, was
quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
In
village of Tubas in the northern West Bank, long lines snaked around
polling stations with some candidates handing out sandwiches and juice
to the waiting voters.
“I
have been standing here for an hour and half with my wife who is
pregnant. She can't stand for long so I took her home and now I have
come back to vote,” said Musharef Mahmoud.
The
municipal elections are seen as a rehearsal for the presidential
ballots, due on January 9, to choose a successor to late Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat.
“This
is a very important election because it prepares the way for the
presidential election,” Firas Yaghi, head of the municipal electoral
commission, told Reuters.
Popularity
Test
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Qorei
welcomed Hamas participation in the polls (AFP)
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The
local elections are also seen as a test for the popularity of the
mainstream Fatah movement and Hamas, one of the main resistance
groups.
Hamas
boycotted the first Palestinian general elections in 1996 and has also
excluded itself from the presidential vote.
Qorei
said he was pleased that Hamas was taking part in the election.
“We
view their participation in the municipal elections favorably. They
say they want to take part in decision-making process,” he said.
“They
are welcome whether that comes about through the ballot box or through
agreement” with the Palestinian Authority.
Shakher
Amara, a local Hamas leader in Jericho, would not predict how the
movement would fare but said that the real indicator of its support
level would come when elections are held in cities such as Nablus,
Al-Khalil and Gaza City.
“What
is happening today will not give a clear picture of our support,” he
told AFP.
“But
today is the first time we are looking for a share of Palestinian
power and to work with others.”
Fatah
leaders, for their parts, expressed confidence over winning the vote.
“It
will be a challenge between Fatah and Hamas. It shows Palestinians are
thirsty for democracy, and I can assure you Fatah will win,” Hussein
Sheikh, a senior Fatah leader, was quoted as saying by the BBC News
Online.
PLO
Executive Committee chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the favorite runner-up in
the presidential votes, urged the Palestinian voters to rise to the
challenge and heavily vote in the local ballots.
“You
are determining your future in these elections and you are deciding on
the running of your own municipal affairs in a democratic manner
without outside interference and under the shadow of the problems
created by the Israeli occupation,” he said in a statement.
The
69-year-old Abbas was unanimously nominated by the Fatah Central
Committee on Monday, November 22, to run for the presidency, a
nomination later rubber-stamped by the Revolutionary Council.
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