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Municipal elections raise hope for Palestinian democracy
It has been almost completely unreported in the West, but yesterday municipal elections were held in the West Bank. Turn-out is reported to be as high as 90%. This is the first time that Hamas has participated as a political party and exit polls show that they finished strong behind Fatah. Granted, most Westerners cringe when we here Hamas and Fatah are the top parties in Palestine, but you have to start somewhere. Female candidates were also well represented in the vote where 16% of city council seats were reserved for women. Read more here.
posted by Free2Smooze | 1:37 PM
2 Comments:
what do you think will happen if Hamas becomes the dominant force.
That is the 64,000 dollar question. Historically, groups that began as insurgencies or armed resistance have been able to transition into effective political patries, but it is no guarantee. Two points; One - Hamas does much more then fight Israelis. They offer security in some of the territories, they offer social services and have political and fund-raising institutions as well. Two - Fatah is much more then a political organization. They have their own armed forces and terror ties. The al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade is part of Fatah. So whom ever emerges as the dominate political force in the Palestinian territories, they will have to divest themselves of their extremists and terrorist ties in order to gain international legitimacy.
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