No ballot paper, no ballot box, no ink; How was the voting in Gaza after 20 years?

On Saturday, Palestinians voted in municipal elections in Gaza and the West Bank. It is the first vote in any part of Gaza in more than 20 years. About 70,000 people were able to vote in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah. The city was hit by air strikes but no major ground attack. There polling stations were set up in tents and buildings were donated.

Election Commission officials said it was only a ‘pilot’ vote for one city. Its purpose is to unite Gaza and the West Bank politically. The people of Palestine consider both places to be an important part of their future state.

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Israel has blocked election materials

Associated Press video showed security officers maintaining order outside polling stations. Election officials said Israel has blocked materials such as ballot paper, ballot boxes and ink from entering Gaza. So the commission used old materials like wooden ballot boxes and blue ink that was left over from the last year’s vaccination campaign.

The commission said it did not coordinate directly with either Israel or Hamas. Israel’s Kogat organization did not respond to questions in this regard.

low turnout

As of 1 p.m., turnout was recorded at 24.5% in Deir al-Balah and 25.3% in the West Bank. In the previous local elections, an average of 50 to 60 percent people voted. This time the turnout was very low. People who cast their votes said that public services in the area have almost ended. The heavy losses in Gaza prompted them to vote.

Ashraf Abu Dan, a voter, said, ‘I have come to vote because it is my right to elect members of the municipality who will provide us with services.’

Try to connect

The Palestinian Authority reformed these local elections last year. The Ramallah-based Central Election Commission encouraged people to vote with the slogan ‘We Stay’.

“We are talking about geographically connecting the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” said Rami Hamdallah, chairman of the commission.

While casting his vote in al-Bireh area of ​​the West Bank, 90-year-old Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that elections will be held in the whole of Gaza in the future. He said, ‘Gaza is an integral part of the State of Palestine. Therefore, we did everything possible to ensure that elections could be held in Deir al-Ballah and to prove the unity of the two parts of the country.

What to do?

Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 and violently seized control of Gaza from Fatah a year later. This time Hamas did not field candidates, although a slate in Deir al-Ballah is believed to be affiliated with Hamas.

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Hamas still controls parts of Gaza, but the territory is moving towards a new governance arrangement under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan, which is currently stalled.