The High Court said that a new date for the elections will be set in the coming month.
The Palestinian Authority High Court of Justice ruled on Monday that municipal elections will take place in the West Bank only, according to Wafa, the official PA news agency.
The High Court said in its ruling: “In order not to relinquish the opportunity to hold elections while maintaining the legitimate rights of citizens in (participating) – because relinquishing the elections is relinquishing the public interest- for these reasons, the High Court decides to implement the cabinet’s decision… to hold elections in all councils of the homeland except for Gaza.”
igh Court of Justice ruled on Monday that municipal elections will take place in the West Bank only, according to Wafa, the official PA news agency.
The High Court said in its ruling: “In order not to relinquish the opportunity to hold elections while maintaining the legitimate rights of citizens in (participating) – because relinquishing the elections is relinquishing the public interest- for these reasons, the High Court decides to implement the cabinet’s decision… to hold elections in all councils of the homeland except for Gaza.”
Municipal elections were supposed to take place in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip on October 8, but the High Court suspended them on September 10, citing the exclusion of Jerusalem from the electoral process and concerns about courts in the Gaza Strip.
The High Court said that a new date for the elections will be set in the coming month.
Municipal elections only took place in the West Bank in 2012 with Hamas boycotting them, leading to a low voter turnout relative to previous elections.
In the past few weeks, a number of Fatah leaders had said if the court cannot resolve the outstanding issues with Gaza’s courts, elections should still happen in the West Bank.
Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on September 10, Abbas Zaki, a Fatah Central Committee Member said, “We hope that the occupation will disappear and the homeland will unify and that elections will take place everywhere, but in order to continue the democratic process, transparent elections should still take place in the West Bank.”
An overwhelming majority of Palestinians opposed the Palestinian Authority High Court’s decision to suspend the municipal election, according to a Arab World for Research and Development (AWRAD) poll sampling 1,200 persons from the West Bank and Gaza in September.
The poll found that 68 percent of Palestinians, 66% of West Bank and 72% of Gaza Palestinians said they oppose the High Court’s decision.
AWRAD president Nader Said told The Post that most Palestinians opposed suspending the elections because they are particularly concerned about daily issues and services such as water, electricity and general infrastructure.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post