QALQILYA - "Sorry, the mayor is not available. He's in prison."
As odd as it sounds, that is what the secretary at Qalqilya city hall will have to tell those seeking Wajia Qawais. The mayor-elect of this West Bank city resides in an Israeli military prison and has been there for the past three years.
Qawais is a Hamas member who, since the Intifada, has been locked behind bars in the Ofer military prison, near Jerusalem. But that did not
stop his movement for running him as a winning candidate in Qalqilya's mayoral election.
In fact, Hamas trounced Fatah in the municipality's council elections, taking all 15 seats.
This places the former Palestinian faction in control of the most important West Bank city in terms of second-round local council elections.
Hamas decided to run a security prisoner in the campaign to "raise awareness about the prisoner issue and to demonstrate the importance Hamas places on the role of the security prisoner in Palestinian society."
Qawais appointed a deputy mayor-elect who is set to fulfill his responsibilities in the city.
Trading accusations
Meanwhile, Hamas and Fatah are fighting over alleged irregularities at voting centers, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Fatah demanded a recount of votes in Rafah and
the al-Bureij refugee camp, arguing that local election boards were biased in favor of Hamas. Fatah insisted that hundreds of residents did not get a chance to vote.
Hamas dismissed the charges and expressed that the incumbent political party would accuse the opposition of election fraud.
Fatah won in 52 municipal councils, as compared to 28 wins for Hamas, but the secular Palestinian party is not celebrating. It is understood that the split in votes was a little too close for comfort.
For its part, Hamas accused Palestinian Authority security officials for interfering in the elections on behalf of Fatah.
"If senior Fatah officials continue their incitement, it will endanger Palestinian unity in a way that the Israeli occupation never did," Hamas members warned.
