Palestinians voted for the first time since 2006 as they took part in local elections on April 25, 2026. Although the Municipal and Village Council Elections are scheduled to take place every four years, it has not been possible to hold elections in this Israeli-occupied, war-torn country over the past two decades. This time, residents of the West Bank and the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah got an opportunity to cast their votes.

The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority has issued a statement, mentioning that the inclusion of Deir al-Balah would reinforce its claim to authority over the territory from which the outfit was ousted by Hamas in 2007. A certain degree of sensitivity is at play in the public consciousness regarding the fact that it has become possible to hold an election after 20 years. Palestinians are happy with the attempt made by the concerned authorities to form new Local Governments through democratic elections even after coming under immense pressure due to the Israeli atrocities. They have expressed hope that the re-establishment of democracy would also be possible in the coming years.

Palestinians are increasingly isolated from each other and the outside world because of Israeli-imposed restrictions, including the separation barrier, numerous checkpoints and the blockade of the Gaza Strip. These measures divide the West Bank, isolate East Jerusalem and cut off Gaza, severely limiting freedom of movement, separating families and disrupting access to jobs, education and healthcare. Sociologists are of the opinion that conducting an election, amidst homelessness, socio-political instability, and an acute scarcity of food and water, is a desperate struggle for survival.

A number of Palestinians have exercised their democratic rights in a rare first. After casting his vote at a polling station in Deir al-Balah, Mamdouh al-Bhaisi (52) told Reuters: “As a Palestinian and a son of the Gaza Strip, I feel proud that after this war the democratic process is returning.” For his part, Munif Treish, one of the candidates in the West Bank, stressed: “We hope that the procedure carried out today will be crowned with Legislative ‌and Presidential Elections.“

After casting his ballot at a polling station in the Al-Bireh area, near Ramallah, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that eventually elections would be held across the Gaza Strip when conditions allow. “Gaza is an inseparable part of the State of Palestine. Therefore, we have worked by all means to ensure that elections take place in Deir al-Balah to affirm the unity of the two parts of the country together,” he stated.

Meanwhile, the turnout was low, at 22.7% in Deir al-Balah and 53.44% in the West Bank. Reuters quoted Hani Al-Masri, a political analyst in the West Bank, as saying that “the low turnout in Gaza showed the ongoing humanitarian crisis meant voting was not a priority and that people were focused on survival rather than political ⁠processes”.

It may be noted that Gaza has been primarily under the control of the Palestinian Hamas Movement since June 2007, when the armed group forcibly took control of the Strip from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority. Following the Israel-Hamas War that ended with the October 2025 ceasefire, a National Committee for the Administration of Gaza is trying hard to take over governance as Hamas disarms. This transition is part of a plan involving an international stabilisation force, the phased withdrawal of Israeli troops and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, endorsed by international actors.

This time, elections were held only in one Gazan city (Deir al-Balah) for a small fraction of the territory’s population. Although Gaza has been included in the electoral process largely in a symbolic manner, European and Arab nations are pleased that administrative control has reverted from Hamas to the Palestinian Authority.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das