GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — At the end of October, the Palestinian government expressed its intention to amend the local elections law and the electoral system, turning it from a closed proportional list to an open proportional list system, after the failure to hold local elections, which were slated for Oct. 8. This raised a debate among Palestinian factions and local bodies about the motives, objectives, reasons and timing of this move.

The Ministry of Local Government held dialogue rounds in Ramallah from Oct. 31 to Nov. 9 with representatives of factions, such as Fatah and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and civil society institutions to discuss the proposed electoral system.

Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Aloul said during one of the dialogue sessions that his movement approves the amendments, while DFLP Deputy Secretary-General Qais Abdel Karim (Abu Laila) stressed the need to reach consensus with all Palestinian factions before amending the local elections law.

On Oct. 4, the government announced the postponement of the local elections after the Supreme Court of Justice in Ramallah decided Oct. 3 to conduct local elections in the West Bank without Gaza, due to the lack of legitimacy in Gaza’s courts. This court’s decision came after the court of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, decided Sept. 8 to reject the registration of nine Fatah lists in the Gaza Strip because some lawyers, who are believed to be affiliated with Hamas, lodged an appeal against candidates on the lists.