RAMALLAH, August 9, 2011 (WAFA) - Voter registration, exhibition and challenge period for the upcoming local elections scheduled for October 22 will be conducted in 295 localities across the West Bank from August 13 to17, Tuesday said the Central Elections Commission (CEC).

“The registration exercise is an integral part of the electoral process to reach a comprehensive and accurate voter’s registry that forms the basis for free and fair elections,” said the CEC in a statement.

The voter registration period will give unregistered voters a chance to register and those who are already registered to update their data. It will also provide a chance to object to the registration of other voters.

Local elections, already postponed twice, will be held in the West Bank only as Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip since June 2007, has refused to allow them to be held there. It said elections should be held after reconciliation is achieved and the West Bank and Gaza Strip are united under one authority.

M.A.