GAZA CITY, 7 May 2005 — Fatah, the dominant Palestinian group, yesterday beat back a strong electoral challenge from Hamas in municipal elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, winning 56 percent of the vote. However, Hamas made a strong showing in urban centers in the occupied territories. It received 33 percent of the vote.
Unofficial election results indicated Fatah won in 45 of 84 communities. Still, Hamas established itself as a major political player, winning 23 of the contests, including in the three biggest towns up for grabs — Qalqilya, Rafah and Beit Lahya. In 16 communities, neither side won a majority, with independents or small groups getting most votes.
In Qalqilya, which straddles the frontier with Israel, some 4,000 Hamas supporters celebrated in the streets, shooting off fireworks, handing out sweets and waving green Hamas flags. Hamas also staged large victory marches in the town of Rafah and the refugee camp of Buried in the Gaza Strip.
At a news conference earlier, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar claimed the movement won 34 out of 84 municipalities.
The local elections were seen as the final test for President Mahmoud Abbas before parliamentary elections in July. Abbas has been seeking to persuade Hamas to give up violence and transform itself into a political party, but is also concerned an increasingly powerful hard-line opposition can hinder his peace efforts with Israel.
Hamas opposes negotiations with Israel, though the local campaigns focused on clean government rather than the conflict with Israel. Fatah officials were disappointed. “The results didn’t live up to our expectations,” said Kadoura Fares, a Fatah legislator and leader of the movement’s younger activists, who have been clamoring for reform.
In the West Bank town of Bethlehem, Hamas won six out of seven council seats reserved for Muslims, with the seventh going to Islamic Jihad, said electoral officials. Christians control the council with eight seats. Tayeb Abdelrahim, a Fatah central committee member and close aide to Abbas, told reporters the results proved his faction “remained the biggest force on the Palestinian street”.
Late Thursday, Abbas welcomed what he called “the transparent and free democratic atmosphere in which these elections took place”.
— Additional input from agencies
