Posters for two competing candidates in this weekend’s Palestinian local elections are affixed to road signs, buildings, power lines, and vehicles in this bustling West Bank city. Despite the crush of campaign colour, the first municipal balloting in Palestinian areas in six years has largely fallen flat.
Only Palestinians in the West Bank will vote on Saturday, choosing mostly between rivals from the dominant but disorganised Fatah Party of President Mahmoud Abbas. Gaza’s Hamas rulers, who seized control of the territory from Abbas’ forces in 2007, will not allow elections there, and Hamas loyalists in the West Bank are boycotting the vote.
The result is a lackluster campaign that has generated little public enthusiasm while deepening the split between the two territories that the Palestinians hope one day will be a single state.
“For the Palestinian Authority and Fatah, the elections are something of a disaster,” said Nathan Thrall, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.
Abbas himself was elected in a 2005 election two months after the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The following year, the Palestinians held legislative elections. But since then, efforts to deepen democracy in the Palestinian areas have stumbled. Since the Hamas takeover of Gaza, repeated attempts to reconcile the rival governments have failed, as have short-lived proposals to hold new presidential and legislative elections.
Abbas announced the local elections earlier this year, hoping to revive his popularity among Palestinians. Abbas’ public standing has plunged due to his inability to heal the rift with Hamas, a faltering economy and a deadlock in peace talks with Israel. Palestinians seek the West Bank and Gaza, located on opposite sides of Israel, for a future state.