GAZA CITY, 22 January 2006 — Thousands of Palestinian security forces started to vote yesterday morning in the legislative elections ahead of the scheduled date of Jan. 25. The forces will be free to protect the voting process on the day of the civilian voting.
The early voting reflected the tense security situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, which have been plagued by election-related chaos and other lawlessness in recent months. Security forces will take up positions at polling stations during Wednesday’s election to ensure order. The special voting for some 59,000 security personnel, running through tomorrow, was meant to give the forces time to prepare for the deployment.
“Today is the beginning of the democratic process which we are very proud of,” said Palestinian Preventive Security Chief Rashid Abu Shbak, who voted in Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp.
“Everything is moving in a smooth and quiet way and we hope the next two days will occur in the same atmosphere and that Jan. 25 will be a national celebration for Palestinian democracy,” he said.
The ruling Fatah party is facing a stiff challenge in the election from Hamas which is participating in a legislative vote for the first time. Opinion polls predict a tight race.
Turnout was heavy yesterday, with more than 40 percent of eligible voters casting ballots, officials said. There were no reports of violence. Security forces, some in civilian clothes and others wearing berets and olive-green uniforms, waited patiently to vote at polling stations throughout Gaza and the West Bank. In the West Bank city of Nablus, hundreds of officers lined up to vote.
The stations were heavily guarded, and voters had to present identification and surrender their weapons to cast their ballots.
To prevent fraud, forces guarding the stations were barred from voting areas, and voters marked their fingers with special ink to prevent double voting. Observers from local human rights groups monitored the voting.
“I came to vote because it’s a national duty,” said Hisham Sakallah, 39, a member of the elite Force 17 security unit who voted at a Gaza City schoolhouse. “I hope the election will pass smoothly so we can send a civilized image to the world about our people and about our respect for democracy.”
Outside the station, a small group of Hamas activists wearing the group’s trademark green baseball caps and bandannas greeted voters. There were no Fatah activists in sight.
Despite a mutual pledge to refrain from violence, tensions between Hamas and Fatah remained high. Hamas has accused security commanders of ordering their forces to vote for Fatah — an allegation confirmed by some low-level officers.
Hanna Nasser, head of the Palestinian election commission, said commanders were instructed to let their troops vote in peace.
“We have made it clear that there should be no such actions,” he said, adding that safeguards are in place to ensure privacy in the polling booth. “You have the full freedom...to vote for whomever you want to vote,” he said.
Fatah activists, on the other hand, have said Hamas will fire or punish security officers who do not back the group. Hamas’ No. 1 candidate, Ismail Haniyeh, urged voters “not to listen or pay attention to the rumors.”
Meanwhile, a poll showed yesterday that Hamas was gaining on Fatah at a national level and the two parties remain neck-and-neck in the districts.
According to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, some 42 percent of the electorate would vote for Fatah, compared with 35 percent for Hamas’ Change and Reform list.
A PSR poll published on Jan. 1 gave Fatah an 18 percentage point lead over Hamas for candidates on the national party lists, under which half of the 132 deputies will be elected.
At a constituency level, where the remainder are to be chosen, the poll said the two parties were neck-and-neck, but it gave no figures.
— With input from agencies
