Independents Win 64.4% of Seats in West Bank Municipal Council Elections

Independent candidates won 407 seats – 64.4% – of the 632 seats up for grabs on the municipal councils of 50 Palestinian cities and towns in the West Bank, where elections were held on Saturday, the Palestinian Central Elections Commission announced Sunday. Partisan lists won the other 225 seats, 35.6% of the total. This was the second phase of local elections; the first round of voting was held in December 2021. In the two rounds, more than 380,000 votes were cast, producing a final turnout of 53.69% out of 715,413 eligible voters, PCEC Chairman Hanna Nasser said in a news conference held in the West Bank city of al-Bireh. About 97% of the ballots were considered valid, while 2% were invalid and 1% were blank. In 23 municipal councils, only one list ran and was declared the winner by acclamation. Hamas and Islamic Jihad boycotted the election. Local elections have not been held in the Gaza Strip since 2004. The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, last stood for election in 2005, winning 67.38% of the vote and defeating the independent candidate Mustafa Barghouti. The Palestinian Legislative Council was last elected in 2006. Hamas emerged as the largest party in those elections, winning 44.45% of the vote.