Residents of Gaza's Deir el-Balah are set to vote on Saturday in the territory's first municipal election in 21 years. The last civic polls were held in 2005.
Many residents describe this as a rare chance to restore local governance after years of war, political paralysis and humanitarian collapse, Al Jazeera said in its report.
Deir el-Balah, a central Gaza city that suffered comparatively less infrastructural destruction than other parts of the enclave, was chosen as the only municipality in Gaza to participate in the broader Palestinian local elections taking place across the occupied West Bank.
According to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC), the April 25 vote is part of a wider process involving hundreds of local councils.
The election comes amid the visible scars of war. In December 2024, Israeli forces bombed the Deir el-Balah municipal building, killing then-Mayor Diab al-Jarou and 10 municipal staff members as they worked to provide services to displaced civilians, Al Jazeera reported.
The strike reportedly took place despite the area having earlier been designated a “safe zone” by the Israeli military.
What's Being Promised?
For many residents, the vote is less about ideology and more about survival. Campaign slogans across the city focus on rebuilding roads, restoring sanitation, repairing water networks and reviving public services.
“We want solutions, not slogans,” one voter told Al Jazeera, summing up a mood of frustration with years of factional politics and stalled institutions. Another resident said local leaders must focus on “services people need every day” rather than party rivalries.
The ballot is also politically significant because Gaza has not held elections for years. Palestinian politics has remained deeply divided since the 2007 split between Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, and Hamas, which has governed Gaza.
Moreover, Presidential and legislative elections planned in recent years were repeatedly delayed or cancelled.
Is Hamas In Fray?
Reuters reported that Hamas officially boycotted the Deir el-Balah vote over disputes surrounding candidate eligibility, though some contenders are widely seen as aligned with the group.
Analysts say the result could still offer an indirect measure of public sentiment in Gaza after the devastation of the war that followed the October 2023 conflict.
Officials say if the Deir el-Balah vote proceeds smoothly, it could become a model for future local elections in other parts of Gaza.
For now, however, residents are approaching the ballot box with modest expectations: cleaner streets, reliable water, functioning services — and a sense that their voices still matter.
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