Published On 4/26/2026
Yesterday evening, Saturday, ballot boxes were closed in all voting centers in the occupied West Bank and the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, marking the start of the counting of votes to choose representatives of local bodies.
The Palestinian Central Elections Commission reported that the polling centers closed at exactly seven o’clock in the evening local time in the West Bank, with those inside the polling stations allowed to finish voting, while the technical crews began counting the votes, in the presence of observers, electoral list agents, and journalists.
According to the committee’s data, the final participation rate in the West Bank reached 53.44%, with 512,510 voters casting their votes, and in the city of Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip, the participation rate reached 22.66% after 15,962 voters cast their ballots.
The committee had decided to extend voting in Deir al-Balah for an additional hour, ending at six in the evening, with the aim of enabling citizens to exercise their electoral right, in this first precedent in 22 years in which the city witnessed local voting.
Political connotations and deferred benefits
These elections come amid limited competition, following a ceasefire agreement reached two years after a genocidal war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, a war that left massive infrastructure destruction and more than 72,000 martyrs.
Voting took place in 183 local bodies, including 90 municipal councils and 93 village councils, while the results were decided by acclamation in major cities such as Ramallah and Nablus as a result of only one list being presented.
For its part, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) welcomed holding elections in Deir al-Balah, describing the step as “positive” and a natural right for the Palestinian people to choose their representatives.
The movement called for these elections to be a prelude to renewing all the legitimacy of the Palestinian political system, through holding comprehensive elections for the Legislative and National Councils and presidential elections that have been suspended for many years due to the political division that has existed since 2007.
The Election Commission is scheduled to continue collecting the results and reviewing the counting records at its general headquarters in the city of Al-Bireh, in preparation for announcing the official results in a press conference on Sunday afternoon, amid popular anticipation of what the results of these elections will be in light of the current political and field challenges.
