R&I – FS
Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Palestinians living in rural areas have begun casting their votes in the first phase of municipal elections in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Voting on Saturday takes place in 154 villages and local councils located in the West Bank, with polling stations closing at 7pm local time (21:00 GMT). No ballots, however, will be cast, in more than 220 other councils, either because only one list is competing or no lists have been submitted.
Larger constituencies, including towns and cities in the West Bank with about 70 percent of total voters, will go to polls in the second phase, scheduled to be held on March 26 next year.
Political parties and civil society groups have criticised the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority (PA) for splitting the local elections, which followed another heavily criticised decision to postpone long-awaited parliamentary and presidential elections.
Hamas has announced a boycott of Saturday’s local elections over the moves, insisting that polls at the national level should be held.
The political movement has been the de facto ruler in the besieged Gaza Strip since 2007 after it defeated Fatah in parliamentary elections. Fatah was driven out of the Strip as it attempted a preemptive coup which resulted in several weeks of violent fighting. The two parties have ruled the Gaza Strip and the West Bank respectively ever since.
JW
Article URL : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/11/divisions-as-palestinians-in-occupied-west-bank-cast-local-votes