Palestinian elections commission urges delay of municipal polls in Gaza

The Palestinian Central Elections Commission (PCEC) asked Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday to postpone municipal polls in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip for being unable to update voters' registration.

Hamas banned the staff of the PCEC from working in Gaza and registration for the elections could not complete, said Rami Al- Hamdallah, head of the PCEC, at a press conference in Ramallah.

The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) said in February that it would hold the municipal elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip on July 17.

Hamas, which has been controlling Gaza since it seized the coastal enclave by force in June 2007, rejected any kind of elections before reaching a national reconciliation with President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party.

In the West Bank, 1.52 million Palestinian voters have registered for the elections, accounting for 82 percent of the total number of eligible voters, Al-Hamdallah said.

Al-Hamdallah said that the law allows the PCEC to postpone the municipal elections for no more than four weeks, but requires an approval from the Palestinian cabinet led by Fayyad.

Hamas refused to sign an Egyptian offer to reconcile with Fatah and called for amendments. Cairo refuses to consider Hamas' reservations and has suspended its efforts to reconcile the rival Palestinians.

Source:Xinhua