Local elections vote counting continues in West Bank, Deir al-Balah; results expected Sunday

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Vote counting continued Saturday evening in local elections across the occupied West Bank and the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, hours after polling stations closed, with officials emphasizing a process marked by “accuracy and transparency.”

According to official data, counting began after polls closed at 7 pm local time (1600GMT) in the West Bank and 6 pm in Deir al-Balah, where voting had been extended by one hour.

Earlier Saturday, 491 polling centers with 1,922 stations opened at 7 am to receive 1.03 million voters choosing representatives for 183 local bodies.

They include 90 municipal councils -- among them Deir al-Balah -- contested by 321 lists comprising 3,773 candidates, as well as 93 village councils contested by 1,358 candidates.

Jamil al-Khaldi, regional director of the Central Elections Commission in Gaza, told Anadolu that preliminary results are expected “in the early hours of Sunday,” with official results to be announced at a news conference in Ramallah before noon.

Deir al-Balah turnout at 25%

In Deir al-Balah, al-Khaldi said turnout reached about 25%, describing it as “lower than expected.”

He pointed to “several factors that affected voter participation” without elaborating, but stressed that holding elections under the current conditions remains “an important step toward strengthening the democratic process.”

“A freely and democratically elected municipal council sends a message to Palestinian society that elections are the only means for the peaceful transfer of power,” he said.

Al-Khaldi added that the vote also signals to the international community that Palestinians “are ready to exercise democratic political life and elect their institutions through their free will.”

In a previous statement, the commission said all 12 polling centers in Deir al-Balah had closed, and counting began in the presence of observers, list agents and accredited journalists.

It said 15,962 voters cast ballots out of 70,449 eligible voters in the city.

Voting in Deir al-Balah marked the first such process in 22 years, with residents participating as the city is relatively less damaged than other parts of Gaza following an Israeli genocide.

A ceasefire was reached after two years of a war that began in October 2023, killing more than 72,000 Palestinians and injuring over 172,000, while devastating 90% of Gaza’s infrastructure.

Observers told Anadolu the vote represents an initial step toward rebuilding local institutions and strengthening administrative unity between Gaza and the West Bank, despite the political division in place since 2007.

West Bank turnout at 53.44%

In a separate statement, the Central Elections Commission said final turnout in the West Bank reached 53.44%, with 512,510 voters casting ballots.

It said counting teams began tallying votes at polling stations in the presence of list representatives, candidates, observers and journalists.

The commission said results from each polling station will be published, then consolidated and verified at its central headquarters in Al-Bireh before being officially announced Sunday at a media center in the city.

The elections come amid a prolonged Palestinian political divide since 2007, highlighting their importance for local governance despite the absence of legislative and presidential elections.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul