image sourced from original article at A list backed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement won most races in weekend municipal elections, including in the Gaza Strip city of Deir al-Balah. The vote marked the first elections of any kind in Gaza since 2006 and the first Palestinian elections since the war that began after the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
In Deir al-Balah, where about 70,000 residents were registered to vote, turnout was just 23 percent amid displacement and wartime disruption. The Fatah-backed Nahdat Deir al-Balah list secured six of 15 seats, while a list widely seen as aligned with Hamas won two. Other seats went to independent local groups. In the West Bank, turnout reached 56 percent, and Abbas loyalists won overwhelmingly, often running unopposed.
Palestinian officials described holding the vote in Gaza as a significant step toward national unity and democratic renewal, with hopes for future presidential and legislative elections. Critics, however, say municipal contests are not enough, as the Palestinian Authority faces mounting public frustration over corruption, stagnation, and the absence of national elections for two decades.
