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West Bank Palestinians Vote in Municipal Elections Saturday

by Reuters

   RAMALLAH, WEST BANK/GAZA --

   Palestinians held municipal elections Saturday in the occupied West
   Bank, a first democratic exercise in years, but one that has also
   raised tensions between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements.

   With no legislative or presidential elections in sight, the municipal
   ballot is seen as a popularity test for Western-backed President
   Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, caught in a deep rift with Islamist
   Hamas.

   Underlining the political schism, about 800,000 Palestinians were
   expected to vote for representatives in 145 local councils in the West
   Bank, but not in the Gaza Strip.

   Months of squabbling

   Months of political and legal wrangling preceded Saturday's elections.
   Abbas's Palestinian Authority, which governs in the West Bank, and
   Hamas, which runs Gaza, blamed each other for the vote not being held
   in the small coastal enclave.

   Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh gestures during a news conference, in Gaza
   City, May 11, 2017.

   "No doubt this is the democratic life we have promised our people,"
   said Fatah Deputy Chief Mahmoud al-Aloul. "Unfortunately this joy is
   taking place in the West Bank alone because Hamas is preventing the
   people from practicing this right in Gaza."

   Hamas said The Palestinian Authority had made a unilateral decision to
   go ahead with the vote before an agreement on a legal framework had
   been reached.

   "The elections are happening without national consensus. Holding them
   in the West Bank alone, without Gaza, will cement division," said Hamas
   spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.

   Hamas boycotted the previous municipal elections, held in 2012. But it
   has urged its supporters to vote for representatives running in the
   current race.

   Last elections 2006

   The last legislative election was held in 2006, and Hamas scored a
   surprise victory. That laid the ground for a political rupture -- Hamas
   and Fatah fought a short civil war in Gaza in 2007, since then Hamas
   has governed the small coastal enclave.

   Some polls show that if parliamentary elections were held now, Hamas
   would win them in both Gaza and the West Bank.

   This week, Hamas's bloc won the student council elections in the
   prominent Palestinian university Bir Zeit, an indication of the group's
   support in the West Bank. Fatah came second.

   Abbas, 82, is now 12 years into what was to be a four-year term and is
   an unpopular leader according to opinion polls. He has no clear
   successor, and there are no steps being taken toward a presidential
   elections any time soon.

   Chairman of the Palestinian Central Election Committee Hana Naser said
   Saturday's vote would be transparent with 1,400 local and international
   observers monitoring the process.