Palestinian electoral commission: Israel might hinder upcoming local elections

The head of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, Hanna Nasir, reveals to Al-Monitor that Hamas agreed to run in the Palestinian local elections set for Oct. 8.
Hamas prime minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh (R) gestures during a meeting with Hanna Nasir (L), chairman of the Palestinian Central Election Commission (CEC), and the commission members in Gaza City May 28, 2012. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas began talks to form a unity government on Monday in a renewed bid to heal political rifts, paving the way for a general election. REUTERS/ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR32QWC
Chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission Hanna Nasir (L) with former Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (R) during a meeting in Gaza City, May 28, 2012. - REUTERS/ Ibraheem Abu Mustafa
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Mohammed Othman
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — Hanna Nasir, the chairman of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) located in al-Bireh, said that Hamas has formally agreed to run for the municipal elections scheduled to be held on Oct. 8. The last elections were held in 2005 in all Palestinian territories (the West Bank and Gaza Strip). The upcoming elections come seven years after the four-year term of the local councils ended in 2009, a hiatus that resulted from the internal Palestinian division.

Hamas received reassurances from the CEC that the elections will be held under appropriate conditions, whereby freedoms will be preserved and the decisions of the Gaza courts vis-a-vis the elections’ results will be respected.

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