The Palestinian National Initiative demonstrated once more its growing significance on the Palestinian political landscape on Thursday when it gained seats on the councils in 16 of the 18 communities in which its candidates ran.
In addition, PNI lists and other PNI-led coalitions performed very well in many areas such as Kofor Aboush, where the party received 35 percent of the votes, equal to one third of council seats. In Baqa Al-Hatab, the PNI list received 47 percent of votes, gaining a total of 4 seats.
Furthermore, the PNI-led coalition in Qarawa Bani Zied secured 38 percent of all votes, gaining the majority of seats on the council. In Ni’leen, the PNI list achieved 16 percent of votes, and 13 percent in Zieta Jama’een. The independent Birzeit coalition, in which the PNI participated, also won 11 of 13 local council seats.
The PNI’s spokesperson reported that the party’s supporters also won seats in the councils of Kofor Aboush and Kofor Ziebad in the Tulkarem District; Qarawa Bani Zied, Birzeit, Ein Yabroud, Tormos’aya, Biet ‘Or Il-Tahta, Al-Tiereh Abood, Jifna and Ni’leen in the Ramallah District; Baqa Al-Hatab in the Qalqilya District; Zieta Jama’een and Farkha in the Salfit District; and in Biet Kahil in the Hebron District.
The PNI’s successes in a further 16 councils illustrate the party’s increasing strength as a third democratic force in Palestinian politics, creating an effective balance between Hamas and Fatah.