RAMALLAH, Saturday, March 12, 2022 (WAFA) – With the publication today by the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) of the final register of electoral lists and candidates running for the second and final phase of the local elections scheduled for March 26 in only the West Bank, it was revealed that female candidates head eight of these electoral lists.
No elections will be held at this time in the Gaza Strip after the de-facto power in the besieged coastal strip, Hamas, has refused to allow elections there.
The CEC said in a statement that the polling on March 26 will take place in 50 localities, mainly the major cities and towns in the West Bank, in which more than one electoral list was running. The total number of nominated electoral lists reached 234; which included 2,306 candidates competing for 632 seats.
In 23 localities, the CEC said only one electoral list is running in each, which means that the nominated list will win by acclamation when the election results will be announced. The number of candidates representing those localities’ seats reached 225.
The CEC also explained that elections will not take place in 29 localities due to the incomplete nomination of electoral lists in them. In one locality, one incomplete electoral list was nominated while in 28 localities no electoral lists were nominated. The Palestinian cabinet will decide on the state of these localities’ local councils, said the CEC.
According to the final register as well; the number of female candidates in all accepted electoral lists reached 676 candidates with a percentage of 26.7% of the total number of candidates, which reached 2,531, while female candidates head eight electoral lists.
Today as well marks the commencement of the electoral campaigning period, which will last for 13 days.
The CEC published the electoral programs for the nominated electoral lists on its website for the public to see.
The first phase of the local elections took place on December 11 in 154 small and medium-sized localities in the West Bank only, including in the Israeli-controlled Area C, after Hamas has banned them in the Gaza Strip, with the independent lists winning more than 70% of the total contested council seats of 1,503, whereas partisan lists gained less than 30% of the overall seats.
Voter turnout in the first phase reached a little more than 66% out of over 400,000 eligible voters.
M.K.
