Gaza: Palestinians Begin Voter Registration Campaign
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Version 0 of 1. Palestinian officials on Monday began updating voter registration records in the Gaza Strip, a critical step toward ending the rift between the Fatah Party, which governs in the West Bank, and the militant Hamas movement, which controls Gaza. The Central Elections Commission, based in the West Bank, opened 257 centers throughout the Gaza Strip and will try to get 300,000 residents to update their electoral information. It was the first time that Hamas had allowed the commission to operate in Gaza since 2007. President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, the leader of Fatah, has said that voter registration is a critical precursor to elections that could unite the rival factions, but the broader reconciliation process appears stalled. Over the weekend at meetings hosted by Egypt, the Palestinian rivals failed to make progress on timetables for forming a new government and holding elections. |