By Anees Bargouthi
RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) – Thousands of Palestinian students are expected to participate in Birzeit University student council elections slated for Wednesday.
According to the university — located near the West Bank city of Ramallah — six political blocs are set to compete in this year’s student polls: Hamas, Fatah, the Democratic Progressive Students, the Birzeit Student Alliance, the Students Initiative and the “Palestine for All” bloc.
The six movements will vie for 51 student council seats, which represent some 9,500 students.
On Tuesday, representatives of the various blocs held debates in which they explained their respective electoral programs and goals for the coming year.
In last year’s election, Hamas-affiliated students clinched 26 of the 51 seats and Fatah-affiliated students won 19 seats, while the Democratic Progressive Students and the Birzeit Student Alliance won five and one seats respectively.
According to official figures, 7,039 out of 9,135 students eligible to vote — 77 percent — participated in last year’s poll.
