Gaza held its first election in 20 years on Saturday without the participation of Hamas, as the armed group faces growing pressure to disarm and cede power after two years of devastating war with Israel.
Municipal elections in Deir Al Balah, which largely escaped the widespread destruction caused by Israeli bombardment and ground fighting elsewhere in the Palestinian territory, were held alongside elections for local councils in the occupied West Bank.
Turnout in Deir Al Balah was 23 per cent, the Palestinian Central Elections Commission announced on Sunday. It blamed the low figure on Gaza's postwar conditions and an outdated electoral register.
It said turnout was 56 per cent in the West Bank. Results are expected soon, with Hamas rival Fatah already claiming a “sweeping victory” for its list of candidates.
Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the group supported the vote in Deir Al Balah. “Hamas is not participating in this election and does not support any of the [electoral] lists, but is fully ready to provide all the conditions for the success of this electoral event,” he said.
They were the first elections of any kind in Gaza since 2006, when Hamas won the Palestinian Authority’s legislative elections and later seized control of Gaza following a brief civil war with the Fatah party of the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas.
Although the election is local, it is part of an effort by the PA, which is based in the West Bank, to reintegrate Gaza into the fold of the internationally recognised administration.
“There is an insistence among the Palestinian government to hold these elections to show territorial and political unity across Palestine,” Palestinian analyst Sadeq Abu Ammar told The National.
At least 70,000 people were eligible to cast votes at 12 polling stations in Deir Al Balah. Although Hamas is not participating, some of the candidates are viewed as being linked to the group, meaning the group could retain some influence if they win.
Mr Abu Ammar said this meant the elections could serve as a “litmus test” of where Gazans stand on Hamas, as well as their readiness to revitalise their political systems.
Disarmament pressure
A US-brokered ceasefire agreement struck in October last year has left Hamas in control of less than half of Gaza’s territory, with the Israeli military occupying the rest. The group is under increasing pressure to hand over its weapons as part of the ceasefire deal, which is being overseen by a “Board of Peace” chaired by US President Donald Trump.
In November, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2803, which endorsed the Board of Peace and the disarming of Hamas, as well as the creation of a Palestinian technocratic administration to run Gaza and an international force to maintain security in the strip.
Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov, director general of the Board of Peace, on Tuesday urged the Security Council to “use all means at their disposal to urge Hamas and all Palestinian factions to accept this framework without delay”. However, Hamas has resisted giving up its weapons while the Israeli military remains in Gaza.
Hazem Ayyad, a Jordanian political commentator, said the Deir Al Balah election “could be a way for Hamas to show that it is still able to exert security control over the strip”.
For people like Adham Al Bardini, 35, the election brings hope of a better future for Gaza after the widespread suffering and destruction inflicted on its people by the war.
“I have been hearing about elections since I was born,” he told Reuters. He added that people are eager to take part “so we can change the reality imposed on us”.
Israel has breached the current ceasefire thousands of times, killing at least 777 people since it went into effect on October 10 and bringing the overall death toll from the war to more than 72,000, according to health authorities in Gaza.
The war began when Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023. They killed about 1,200 people and took another 240 to Gaza as hostages.
