Palestinian Supreme Court postpones decision on future municipal elections
Sept. 21, 2016 5:20 P.M. (Updated: Sept. 21, 2016 5:20 P.M.)
http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?id=773245

RAMALLAH (Ma’an) -- The Palestinian Supreme Court has postponed a decision
regarding future municipal elections to Oct. 3, following a request by the
public prosecution, after municipal elections set to be held on Oct. 8 were
cancelled earlier this month.

Central Elections Commission (CEC) spokesperson Farid Tamallah announced at
the Supreme Court in Ramallah on Monday morning that the decision was
postponed in order to allow all sides to represent their argument.

The CEC confirmed that it was fully committed to the court's order,
declaring that it had suspended all elections procedures pending a final
court decision.

Meanwhile, Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri slammed the Palestinian Supreme
Court's decision to postpone, saying it was effectively an order to cancel
the entire electoral process.

In a statement, Abu Zuhri said that “the Supreme Court is manipulating the
electoral process and creating more obstacles to hold future elections, due
to the previous past strife over holding elections and Fatah’s disrespect
for the electoral process.”

Fatah is the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which control
the Supreme court and rules the West Bank, while Hamas is the de facto
ruling party in the Gaza Strip.

The Supreme Court ruled on Sep. 10 to cancel elections, saying the decision
was in response to several appeals submitted by lawyers challenging the
legitimacy of elections that would not include occupied East Jerusalem,
while other lawyers challenged the legitimacy of elections in the Gaza Strip
after a Gaza court dropped five Fatah-affiliated candidates from
participating in the local elections there.

Hamas, on the other hand, said that the court decision represented the
biased nature of Palestinian elections in Fatah's favor.

The PA-controlled cabinet in the West Bank, dominated by Hamas’ political
rival Fatah, announced its decision to hold elections in June, but it
remained uncertain whether Hamas and the Gaza Strip would be included in the
process, after the movement boycotted the last local elections in 2012 in
response to alleged corruption and intimidation among Fatah officials.

In July, Hamas announced their participation in municipal elections, paving
the way for elections to be held for the first time in a decade in the small
Palestinian territory.

Analysts had claimed that Hamas’ participation in local elections would have
signaled the possibility of long-overdue general elections being held in the
West Bank and Gaza.

The last elections in the Gaza Strip were held in 2006, when Hamas’ victory
led to a violent conflict between Hamas and Fatah, as both groups attempted
to take control of the besieged coastal enclave.

Gaza was placed under an Israeli military siege in 2007 following Hamas'
victory in the general elections and subsequent takeover of the government.
The nearly decade-long siege has severely crippled the economy and further
isolated the Gaza Strip from the rest of the Palestinian territory.

The two parties reached a reconciliation agreement in 2014, but its
practical implementation was met with failure as a result of Hamas’ wariness
at relinquishing control of the Gaza Strip and numerous political
disagreements between the two groups.