Voter registration opened in the West Bank on Sunday to prepare for elections, the chairman of the Central Elections Commission announced.
At a news conference in Ramallah, Hanna Nasser said 754 voter registration centers would be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday until Thursday.
Nasser added that he hoped it would be the last time he announced the start of local elections, which are overdue and have been stalled by the infighting between Hamas and Fatah.
Voters will elect representatives in 98 municipal councils, 245 village councils, and 10 local councils in the West Bank, Nasser said. The Jerusalem district will be included but 28 voting centers will be located on the outskirts of the occupied city, and not in East Jerusalem itself, he added.
The registration process will be the last chance for eligible voters to register, and for those who wish to change their registration station. Residents can also check their details and raise objections against any voters in their constituency suspected of registering illegally.
The CEC has sent messages to the Hamas-led government in Gaza but has not received any replies, Nasser said.
The commission was due to update the voter registry in Gaza in early July, but Hamas canceled the process a day before it was due to begin.
Since then, Hamas has refused to allow the CEC to operate in Gaza, citing a lack of public freedoms in the West Bank as an obstacle to free and fair elections, among other complaints.
The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority announced on July 10 that it would hold elections on Oct. 20, a decision denounced by Hamas as a "unilateral step" that undermined reconciliation.
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