Palestine's first election since 2006, voter registration begins

Voter registration and electoral roll updates began across the occupied West Bank on Saturday, ahead of Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for 28 November, the first such vote in nearly 20 years. Registration centres opened to the public on Saturday morning, and the process will run until Wednesday evening (19 August), according to the schedule announced by the Central Elections Commission. The commission urged eligible citizens whose names are not yet on the electoral roll to register, and asked already registered voters to update their information if necessary. The commission stressed that registration is one of the important stages in the electoral process. The commission said the elections will be held in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, including Jerusalem, with Palestinians aged 17 and above eligible to register. The data update process is only being carried out in the West Bank, while Gaza residents are automatically registered based on Palestinian population data, the commission added. The vote will be the first Palestinian legislative election since 2006, held after years of internal Palestinian division and war in Gaza. The election is seen as a test of efforts to rebuild Palestinian institutions and renew governmental legitimacy. Earlier on Wednesday, Hamas political bureau member Husam Badran said the group would participate in the elections in the broadest possible national coalition. Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on 9 July setting 28 November as the date for the legislative elections. The date of the presidential election will be announced later, with voting planned for the first quarter of 2027. According to the commission, candidate registration will take place from 26 September to 7 October, while the campaign period begins on 6 November, ahead of the vote on 28 November.