There was an election, of sorts, in Gaza at the weekend. It was a very limited vote – only people registered to vote in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah were able to cast a ballot. This made up a total electorate of 70,000 people, and of them, only 23% actually voted.
Hamas did not field any candidates and the municipal election has been described as a largely symbolic exercise by the Palestinian Authority (PA). The PA, which is dominated by Fatah under Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, wants to link the West Bank and Gaza politically ahead of a possible presidential campaign at some stage in the future.
The low turnout in the Gaza poll was not unexpected given the continuing instability in the Strip. A joint report on Gaza published earlier this month by the UN, EU and World Bank, estimated that the Israeli military has displaced more than 1.9 million Palestinians in the last two-and-a-half years.
