Abbas loyalists sweep Palestinian elections, including some seats in Gaza

Voter turnout in Gaza remained low due to the ongoing impact of the genocide.Loyalists of President Mahmoud Abbas won most races in Palestinian municipal elections, election officials said, in a vote that for the first time in nearly two decades included a city in the besieged Gaza Strip.The elections had been held “at a highly sensitive moment amid complex challenges and exceptional circumstances”, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa said as results were announced on Sunday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Elections without sovereignty: What Palestine’s local vote representslist 2 of 4West Bank scepticism as Palestinians doubt local elections will change muchlist 3 of 4Gaza area votes in first municipal election in 20 yearslist 4 of 4Palestinians cast their ballots as Gaza holds first election in 21 yearsend of listSaturday’s ballot marked the first elections of any kind in Gaza since 2006, and the first Palestinian polls since Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the territory began in October 2023.The vote in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah was a largely symbolic “pilot” election, Palestinian Authority officials said, intended to show that Gaza was an inseparable part of a future Palestinian state.Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007, did not formally nominate candidates in Gaza and boycotted the race in the occupied West Bank, where Fatah’s victory was widely expected.But some candidates on one of the Deir el-Balah lists were widely seen by residents and analysts as aligned with the movement, making the vote a potential indicator of support for the group.Preliminary results showed that the list, known as Deir el‑Balah Brings Us Together, won only two of the 15 seats contested in Gaza.The Nahdat Deir el‑Balah list, backed by Abbas’s Fatah party and the Palestinian Authority, secured six seats. The remaining seats were won by two other Gaza-based groups, Future of Deir el‑Balah and Peace and Building, not affiliated with either faction.