Will upcoming local elections unite Palestinians, or divide them even further?
The Palestinian Authority has announced a date for local elections to be held in Gaza and the West Bank, but Hamas is reluctant to sign onto an electoral process it suspects will marginalize it.
The Palestinian government has set a date for local elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The elections, which will include 414 local bodies, will be held Oct. 8, according to a June 21 announcement.
According to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, a local body is a local government unit within a specific administrative geographic area, the borders of which are based upon official maps recognized by the Ministry of Local Government.
Under the Palestinian Local Elections Law of 2005, there should be enough candidates on each electoral list to fill a majority of the seats allocated to the electoral district. The candidates list shall be considered closed, and the names of the candidates appear in order of priority.
On June 23, the Central Election Commission released the official timeline for the local election process, starting with registration, announcement and vetting of candidacy and publicity before the voting itself and the announcement of the final results.
