RAMALLAH: Palestinians in the West Bank and central Gaza voted on Saturday in municipal elections, the first since the Gaza war erupted, marked by low turnout and a narrow slate of contenders.

Nearly 1.5 million people were registered to vote in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as well as 70,000 people in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah area, according to the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission (CEC).

“We are very pleased to exercise democracy in spite of the many challenges we face, both locally and internationally,” Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas told journalists after voting in Al-Bireh, Wafa news agency said.

Early on Saturday, a steady trickle of voters headed to polling stations in the West Bank, as foreign diplomats observed the process.

By 5pm (1400 GMT), turnout in the West Bank reached 40.62 percent, the CEC said.

But participation in Deir el-Balah was significantly lower, at just 21.2pc, by the time polls closed there at 6pm. In the previous municipal elections in March 2022, turnout was 53.7pc in West Bank cities. Voting in the West Bank ended at 7pm, with a notable late surge of women voters in Jericho.

“We will elect someone who can improve the local community … things like water and repairing the streets,” said Manar Salman, an English teacher in the city.

“We don’t receive much support from outside, and the occupation affects us in many ways… it limits what the municipality can do.” Some questioned the election’s timing.

“We didn’t want elections at this time — not with war in Gaza and settler attacks ongoing in the West Bank,” said Ziad Hassan, a businessman from Dura Al-Qaraa village.

“The decision was imposed on us, and so we are compelled to elect an administrative body for the village council.” Israeli settler attacks have surged in recent months, and become a major concern.

“The main thing is security from settlers. That’s why we need new faces, young people willing to fight for our rights,” said Abed Jabaieh, 68, former mayor of Ramun village. Most electoral lists were aligned with Abbas’s secular-nationalist Fatah movement or composed of independents.

EU hails vote

Hamas, Fatah’s bitter rival and the ruling power in Gaza, was absent from the race.

In many municipalities, Fatah-backed lists faced off against independents supported by smaller factions such as the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Municipal councils oversee water, sanitation, and local infrastructure but do not enact legislation.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2026