JUST ANOTHER POLITICAL PARTY:

West Bank Elects Councils: Preliminary results show Fatah in control of most local bodies, but Hamas wins a third of the vote. Participation is strong at 81%. (Laura King, September 30, 2005, LA Times)

The militant group Hamas captured up to one-third of the votes in Palestinian municipal elections held Thursday, according to preliminary unofficial results, a solid showing that could presage its performance in parliamentary balloting early next year.

The Palestinian commissioner for local elections, Jamal Shobaki, said it appeared that the governing Fatah movement had won a majority on councils in 45 towns or villages and Hamas had captured 22. The initial results in 15 locales were inconclusive.

The turnout was about 81%, Shobaki said.

Throughout the day, Palestinians gathered at schools and municipal centers throughout the West Bank to cast their votes.

Old men leaned on canes as they shuffled toward ballot boxes; little boys chased after one another wearing headbands of satiny green for Hamas or the checkered black-and-white cloth representing Fatah, which is led by Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority.

Democratic elections are still something of a novelty for Palestinians, who went to the polls in January, electing Abbas successor to the late Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat. Municipal votes were also held in January and May, and a fourth round is planned before year's end.

"My vote is important," said Haniyeh Qurt, 54, a veiled woman who emerged beaming from the polling station at the Boys' Secondary School in the West Bank city of Beitunia, outside Ramallah. "You see, I'm a citizen, and this is my right."

And the exercise of their rights imposes responsibilities on those they elect.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 30, 2005 8:18 AM