RAMALLAH, May 5: President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah movement appeared to have beaten back a challenge by Hamas militants in Palestinian municipal elections on Thursday, an exit poll showed. A win would be a major boost for Fatah, which had seen its popularity slip amid corruption allegations while support for Hamas was on the rise. It would also reassure Fatah ahead of a parliamentary vote due in July.
The Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research said Fatah appeared to have won control of six of 14 municipal councils where it conducted exit polls in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Hamas won two.
Thursday’s poll comes against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire with Israel engineered by Mr Abbas that has raised hopes of reviving Middle East peacemaking.
Hamas, which boycotted previous polls, posed an electoral challenge to Fatah after gaining street credibility for its fight against Israel, religious piety, and charitable services.
Fatah has been concerned it could get hammered by Hamas in July parliament polls, although a senior Palestinian official said that vote could be delayed by disputes within Fatah over election law amendments some feel could benefit Hamas.
A delay would give Mr Abbas more time to curb corruption and lawlessness as many Palestinians demand.
“We need more time to prepare,” said a senior Fatah official. “There are no guarantees we can win against Hamas.”
Hamas’s West Bank leader, Hassan Youssef, said the group would insist the parliamentary election was held as scheduled.
HIGH TURNOUT: More than 2,500 candidates vied for seats on 84 municipal councils on Thursday and turnout was high, at 80 per cent in Gaza and 70 per cent in the West Bank. Some 400,000 Palestinians were eligible to vote.
The election had a festive air as party activists identified by their flags — yellow for Fatah, green for Hamas, black for Islamic Jihad and red for small leftist factions — erected tents and greeted arriving voters.
Hamas had trounced Fatah in an earlier round of municipal voting in Gaza in January and made a strong showing in a similar West Bank poll in December, although Fatah got more seats. A final round is planned for later this year.
Before this year, there had been no municipal elections in Gaza since the end of the British Mandate over Palestine in 1948. All current Gaza town officials are Fatah appointees. Town elections were previously held in the West Bank in 1976.
Analysts had expected close races for local government positions as Fatah tried to rebound.—Reuters
