Voter registration and data updates began across the occupied West Bank on Saturday ahead of Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for November 28, the first such vote in nearly 20 years.
Registration centres opened to the public on Saturday morning, with the process set to continue until Wednesday evening, according to the timetable announced by the Central Elections Commission.
The commission called on eligible citizens whose names are not on the electoral register to sign up and urged registered voters to update their information if necessary, stressing that registration is a key stage of the electoral process.
It said the elections would be held in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, including occupied East Jerusalem, and that Palestinians aged 17 and above are eligible to register.
The data update process is limited to the occupied West Bank, while Gaza residents are automatically registered based on the Palestinian civil registry, the commission added.
First since 2006
The vote will be the first Palestinian legislative elections since 2006.
Coming after years of internal Palestinian division and the Gaza war, the elections are seen as a test of efforts to rebuild Palestinian institutions and renew their legitimacy.
Hamas political bureau member Husam Badran said on Wednesday that the group would participate in the elections “within the broadest possible national coalition.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree on July 9 setting November 28 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 run from September 26 to October 7, while campaigning will begin on November 6 ahead of the general vote on November 28.
