Early West Bank Election Activity Shows Large Proportion of Eligible Voters Going to the Polls

The West Bank municipal elections were conducted today in a quiet, orderly manner. Some scattered minor disturbances were reported, but on the whole, Arab policemen, recruited by the hundreds for election day duty, had no difficulty maintaining order. All Israeli army and border police units were evacuated from the West Bank last night to remove any hint of coercion. The results of today’s voting are expected to be announced tomorrow at the Israeli Military Government headquarters near Ramallah.

The Military Government took no action against provocative sloganeering such as “Arab lands for the Arabs” or the unauthorized hoisting of the red, white and green Palestinian flag on many buildings. Some 60 candidates who had registered for office withdrew their candidacy last night, leaving 514 candidates in the race-for 205 town council seats in 24 West Bank municipalities.

A large proportion of the 88,000 eligible voters–including, for the first time; women–were expected to go to the polls. As of noon today about 40 percent of the eligible voters in Hebron had cast their ballots, about 30 percent in Nablus and 15 percent in Tulkarem. But long lines were waiting outside most polling stations and a substantial vote is expected to have been cast by the time the polls close at 8 p.m. local time.

The elections are being held in accordance with Jordanian law which was amended by the Israeli authorities only to the extent that women and non-property owners are eligible. A large percentage of the registered women voters have gone to the polls, it was reported today. Schools were closed on the West Bank for the elections and many Arabs who work in Israel did not report to their jobs this morning, presumably in order to vote.