Palestinians in the West Bank and central Gaza voted for municipal councils on Saturday, the first elections since the Gaza war began. 

With a narrow slate of contenders, turnout was initially low in the occupied West Bank where 1.5 million people were registered to vote. 

But it was boosted by a last-minute surge, reaching 53.44 percent, the Ramallah-based Central Elections Commission (CEC) said, just fractionally lower than in the previous ballot in March 2022.

In Gaza's Deir el-Balah, however, participation was low with only 22.7 percent of the 70,000 registered voters casting ballots, it said. 

"We are very pleased to exercise democracy in spite of the many challenges we face," president Mahmud Abbas told journalists after voting in Al-Bireh, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. 

During the morning, a steady trickle of voters could be seen heading to polling stations in the West Bank, while foreign diplomats observed the process.

"We will elect someone who can improve the local community ... things like water and repairing the streets," said Manar Salman, an English teacher in Jericho.

"We don't receive much support from outside, and the occupation affects us in many ways... it limits what the municipality can do."

Some questioned the timing of the vote. 

"We didn't want elections at this time -- not with war in Gaza and ongoing settler attacks in the West Bank," said Ziad Hassan, a businessman from the village of Dura Al-Qaraa.

"The decision was imposed on us."

Settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank have surged since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

"The main thing is security from settlers. That's why we need new faces, young people willing to fight for our rights," said Abed Jabaieh, 68, former mayor of Ramun village.

'An important step'

Most electoral lists were aligned with Abbas's secular-nationalist Fatah movement or composed of independents.

Hamas, Fatah's bitter rival which rules over Gaza, was absent from the race.

Municipal councils oversee water, sanitation and local infrastructure but do not enact legislation.

However, with no presidential or legislative elections since 2006, electing local councils has become one of the last remaining democratic mechanisms under the Palestinian Authority.

The PA faces widespread criticism over corruption, stagnation and declining legitimacy, with donors increasingly tying their financial and diplomatic support to reform, particularly of local governance.

The vote was hailed by the European Union as an "important step towards broader democratisation and strengthened local governance... in line with the ongoing reforms process".

'Strong determination'

In Gaza, the polls closed at 6 pm to allow counting to take place in daylight because of the lack of electricity in the devastated territory, the CEC told AFP.

Two years of war have destroyed huge areas of Gaza and left more than 72,000 dead, according to its health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN.

Public infrastructure, sanitation and health services are all struggling to function.

It was the first vote in Gaza since the 2006 legislative elections which were won by Hamas. They took over a year later and have remained in power ever since.

The PA decided to hold elections in Deir el-Balah to test its "success or failure, since there are no post-war opinion polls", explained political scientist Jamal al-Fadi from Cairo's Al-Azhar University.

It was chosen because it was one of the few areas where the population has not been largely displaced.

Although the elections were largely symbolic, they were a sign of people's "will to live", said 24-year-old Mohammed al-Hasayna after voting.

"We are an educated people with strong determination and we deserve to have our own state," he told AFP. 

"We want the world to help us overcome the catastrophe of war. Enough wars -- it's time to work towards rebuilding Gaza."