21 Oct 2012

Elections on West Bank

11:27 am on 21 October 2012

Palestinians voted in local elections on Saturday in the Israel-occupied West Bank. It was their first vote for six years.

The elections have repeatedly been delayed.

The results are expected to largely reaffirm Fatah, which runs a de facto government in areas not policed by Israel.

The vote was boycotted by Hamas. The BBC reports more than half the constituencies are not being contested and overall turnout is expected to be low.

The Central Elections Commission says preliminary results will be issued on Sunday and final results within 72 hours.

Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, a year after winning a decisive election victory there.