– The voter turnout was similar to the previous elections in 2021 despite the various challenges.
Al-Bireh, April 25, 2026 (WAFA) – More than half a million voters in the West Bank exercised their democratic right to choose their representatives in local bodies on Saturday, despite the various challenges facing the Palestinian people, from the practices of the occupation, the attacks of settlers, and the piracy of clearance funds .
The number of voters in the local elections reached 512,510 voters, with a participation rate of 53.44% in the West Bank, which is close to the participation rate in the previous local elections in 2021, according to the spokesman for the Central Elections Committee, Farid Ta’amallah, which reflects our people’s bias towards the option of democracy and their lack of response to the calls that came out to boycott participation in the elections .
Omar Rahal, director of the Shams Center for Human Rights and Democracy, told Wafa that the similarity in the participation rate in the 2026 local elections to its predecessor means that the Palestinian people are inclined towards democracy and to exercise their constitutional and legal right to participate in elections .
He added that the participation rate confirms that our people have the awareness and will to exercise their constitutional and legal right, which indicates that the Palestinian people are a living people and have the ability to organize themselves away from occupation, guardianship and control, and that they are a people longing for freedom and democratic action, and that, like all the peoples of the world, they have aspirations to be liberated from occupation and to exercise their right like the rest of the peoples .
He added that elections are not new to the Palestinian people, but these elections come amidst attacks by settlers and the occupation, the violation and theft of Palestinian lands, and in light of the difficult economic conditions we are experiencing, in addition to the theft and robbery of funds by the occupation. Nevertheless, the Palestinian people have spoken today in the local elections .
He pointed out that municipal elections are not only about services, but also have a role in strengthening the resilience of Palestinian citizens on their land, in addition to the developmental dimension related to investments and creating job opportunities for citizens through the presence of investments in various cities, towns and villages .
He stressed that the local elections represent a message to the international community that the Palestinian people are capable, have the will, can govern themselves, and are eager for the right to self-determination, and that they need the support of the international community in order to enable them to exercise their right to self-determination and establish their independent state, in light of the occupation standing as a real obstacle preventing the Palestinian people from exercising their basic rights, foremost among them the elections .
The Central Election Commission had announced the end of the voting process for the 2026 local elections in the West Bank, as the polling stations closed their doors at 7 pm, while allowing voters who were inside the polling stations to cast their votes after the specified time .
The Central Election Commission confirmed that the voting process proceeded calmly and regularly, without any significant violations being recorded. It explained that the commission’s teams began the process of counting votes inside the polling stations in the presence of the lists’ representatives, candidates, observers, and journalists. At the end of this process, the number of votes obtained by the nominated lists in each station will be published, and then the results will be compiled, the counting records will be audited, and the results will be approved centrally at the general headquarters in the city of Al-Bireh, in preparation for announcing them at a press conference tomorrow, Sunday, at the media center in the city of Al-Bireh .
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A.B./A.F.
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