Gaza Prepares 110 Polling Centres for November 28 Legislative Election Palestinian election officials are preparing up to 110 polling centres in Gaza for about 1.25 million voters ahead of the November 28 legislative election, with security the main obstacle. Palestinian election authorities are preparing up to 110 polling centres across Gaza to serve roughly 1.25 million eligible voters ahead of a legislative election scheduled for November 28, officials said, even as widespread destruction and continuing security concerns complicate the process. Jamil al-Khalidi, regional director of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission in Gaza, said preparations were advancing on technical and logistical fronts but that security remained the main obstacle to holding the vote. Gaza Polling Centres Face Security ChallengesAl-Khalidi said the commission was ready from a technical and logistical standpoint, but stressed that a safe environment was essential for voters, candidates, political parties, election staff and observers. He urged the international community to help ensure conditions that would allow all sides involved in the process to operate freely and safely.Current plans call for around 100 to 110 polling centres in the enclave to serve approximately 1.25 million eligible voters. The scale of destruction in Gaza has complicated efforts to identify suitable polling locations, according to al-Khalidi. He said the destruction was very extensive and had affected infrastructure needed for the electoral process.The commission is coordinating with the Education Ministry to identify schools that remain accessible and can be converted into polling centres. Al-Khalidi said the destruction had not diminished public interest in the election, pointing to a strong determination among Palestinians to participate despite the hardships of recent years.The commission has also prepared contingency plans in case ballot boxes, ballot papers or electoral ink cannot be brought into the enclave. Al-Khalidi said that if sensitive election materials could not be brought in, acceptable and practical alternatives had been drawn up that would allow the vote to be held in line with international standards. He added that the commission did not see technical obstacles that would prevent the election from going ahead, provided security conditions allow the process to proceed.First Legislative Vote Since 2006The November 28 election would be the first Palestinian legislative vote since 2006 and only the third since the Palestinian Legislative Council was established. Al-Khalidi described a return to the ballot box after nearly two decades as an important step toward rebuilding political stability.He said the experience of the past 20 years had shown that elections are the way out of political crises and disagreements. He added that the commission does not claim elections will solve all problems, but believes holding them is a first step that can be built upon. Renewed elections could help expand political participation, strengthen unified Palestinian decision-making and address the consequences of years of political division, he said.Candidate registration began on Saturday, with five party and independent lists submitting applications in the first hour, according to al-Khalidi. Registration will remain open until October 7, while campaigning is scheduled to begin November 6.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree in July setting November 28 for legislative elections in occupied East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian Legislative Council has been inactive since 2007 following a Palestinian political split and was formally dissolved by the Constitutional Court in 2018. Legislative and presidential elections scheduled for 2021 were postponed by Abbas, who cited the absence of Israeli assurances allowing Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem to participate.In April, municipal elections were held in Deir al Balah in central Gaza, with tents used as polling centres in what marked the city’s first local vote in 22 years. The November vote is expected to test whether electoral logistics can be rebuilt amid the enclave’s damaged infrastructure and ongoing security concerns.