The springtime student council elections at universities in the West Bank have ended, or almost have. Observers and journalists followed the event and its results first hand, although these were purely "theoretical" union elections.
However, Hamas viewed the results of these elections as an indicator of its size in the Palestinian arena, at a time when there are no other indications or elections, such as union, labor, municipal, legislative or other elections. As a result, Hamas should not be excluded from any political calculations. In 1992, the movement demanded 40% of seats in the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Fatah rejected the demand, assuming that Hamas was requesting more than it deserved. Only a year later, the results of university elections proved that this was the least that Hamas could demand.
