Governorates, April 25, 2026 (WAFA) – Polling stations opened their doors at seven o’clock this morning, Saturday, to receive about one million and 30 thousand citizens, to elect their representatives in 183 local bodies.
The head of the Central Elections Commission, Rami Hamdallah, said that election day is a great day despite the challenges and difficulties surrounding it, noting that the electoral process began at seven o’clock in the morning and that all 421 polling centers were opened, including the Deir al-Balah center in the central Gaza Strip.
Hamdallah explained that the elections are proceeding calmly and regularly so far, considering this an important achievement under the current circumstances. He added that holding the elections in the West Bank and Deir al-Balah embodies the unity of the homeland and confirms that Palestine is one geographical unit, noting that the Elections Committee is the reference for all local bodies participating in these elections.
He noted that approximately 11,000 staff members from the committee are overseeing the management of the electoral process in the West Bank and Deir al-Balah, stressing that all necessary measures have been taken to ensure its smooth progress, including the accreditation of international observers, the presence of 6,500 list agents and individuals, in addition to 850 accredited journalists, and thousands of local journalists who are covering the election proceedings.
Hamdallah pointed out that the elections faced major challenges, most notably the security and political conditions, and the repercussions of the war on the Gaza Strip and Iran, which cast a shadow over Palestine, in addition to the application of the new electoral system for the first time in one day, which combines the open proportional list and the individual list.
He stressed that the Election Commission was able to overcome these challenges, expressing his hope that the electoral process would continue in the best possible way, with the results to be announced on Sunday afternoon. He explained that the Palestinian political level and the Election Commission had been in contact with a number of influential countries to ensure that the elections were conducted in the best possible way.
Voters are casting their ballots in 491 centers comprising 1,922 polling stations, and the voting process will continue until 7:00 PM on Saturday.
The elections include 90 municipal councils, including Deir al-Balah municipality, in which 321 electoral lists comprising 3,773 candidates are competing, in addition to 93 village councils in which 1,358 candidates are competing for their seats .
The Central Election Commission is scheduled to hold a press conference later today, Saturday, to announce all the details related to the electoral process and to answer journalists’ questions. The commission will also announce, throughout the day of voting, every three hours, the percentage of participation in the local elections.
The 2026 local elections will be held in accordance with the new election law issued on November 19, 2025, which established two different electoral systems: the proportional representation system (open list) for municipal councils, and the majority system (individual candidacy) for village councils .
In municipal council elections, voters place a checkmark in the box to the right of only one electoral list and then select five candidates from that list. In village council elections, voters select five candidates from the names appearing on the ballot .
Regarding the sorting process, the sorting and counting of votes will take place inside the polling stations themselves, in the presence of any observers, electoral list agents, and journalists who wish to attend. The results will be documented in the sorting report, which will be posted on the station door. Then, the process of collecting the votes received from all centers will begin at the central data entry center .
Regarding the final results, the Central Election Commission will hold a press conference tomorrow, Sunday, to announce the results of the 2026 local elections, including the number of votes and seats obtained by each list and the names of the winners in each local body, in addition to the final participation rates at the level of all bodies, noting that these results are subject to appeal before the Election Court within a week of the date of their announcement .
—
H.H./S.K.
About the Author
