Preliminary results released Sunday indicate that lists affiliated with the Fatah movement are leading in local elections in Deir al-Balah — the first municipal vote to be held in the Gaza Strip in more than two decades.
The landmark poll, conducted Saturday across the West Bank and in the central Gaza city, recorded a turnout of 56% in the West Bank compared with 22.8% in Deir Al-Balah.
Central Elections Commission (CEC) Chairman Rami Hamdallah hailed the vote as a “reaffirmation of the unity of Palestinian land and people,” despite what he described as “extremely complex conditions” imposed by two and a half years of genocide and Israeli military assault.
Jamil Al-Khalidi, the CEC’s regional director for Gaza, announced from a café in Deir Al-Balah that the “Nahdet Deir Al-Balah” list secured 6 of the 15 available seats. Of the 70,449 eligible voters in the city, 16,081 successfully cast their ballots.
The “Peace and Building” list, comprised largely of candidates associated with Hamas, secured two seats, matching the performance of the independent “Deir Al-Balah Tajma’una” list. While candidates ran without direct factional sponsorship, local observers noted that the “Nahdet Deir Al-Balah” and “Mustaqbal Deir Al-Balah” lists—the top two vote-getters—are primarily composed of Fatah affiliates.
The disparity in turnout between the West Bank and Gaza was attributed by Hamdallah to a civil registry that failed to account for the current humanitarian catastrophe. He noted that the registry does not reflect the “large number of citizens martyred” or the mass displacement and collapse of basic life sustaining infrastructure.
Deir Al-Balah was selected as the sole voting site in the Gaza Strip because it was deemed the “least damaged” area following what local officials described as a 30-month war of extermination by the Israeli occupation army, Al Khalidi had explained to Al Manassa on Saturday.
The Fatah movement issued a statement claiming a “sweeping victory” for its “Covenant and Giving” list, characterizing the results as a “popular referendum” in favor of its political program and national liberation project. The movement claimed significant wins in West Bank municipalities including Hebron, Tulkarm, Salfit, Al-Bireh, and Jenin.
The CEC chairman emphasized that the synchronized voting serves as a “significant political message” regarding the possibility of national unity and clears a path for long-delayed general elections for the presidency, legislature, and National Council.
Gaza has been administered by Hamas since 2007. During that period, municipal councils were filled via appointment in 2007 and 2023, the latter occurring just months before the start of the Israeli genocidal war in October 2023.
Final results, subject to legal appeals, are expected to be delivered to the Ministry of Local Government by early May.
