RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Palestinians voted Thursday in more than 80 municipalities across the occupied territories in a final test of the radical Hamas group's popularity before it contests legislative polls for the first time.
Hundreds of thousands of people trouped out to cast their ballot after polling stations opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) to elect 906 municipal council representatives from among 2,519 candidates, including 399 women.
Polls began closing 12 hours later, but local election commission officials said those still standing in line would be able to cast their ballots.
More than 400,000 people were entitled to vote in an election seen as a litmus test of the overall popularity of the radical Islamist movement which first entered the democratic process last December.
The party is also to run in legislative elections on July 17, pitting itself against the main Palestinian political movement Fatah.
Apart from a plethora of small towns and villages, voting took place in only five major towns: Bethlehem, Qalqiliya and Salfit in the West Bank, along with Rafah and Beit Lahya in the Gaza Strip.
Both Gaza's impoverished Beit Lahiya and Rafah have been radicalised by some of the bloodiest violence of the nearly five-year Palestinian uprising, and Hamas has high hopes for victory in its decaying suburbs and refugee camp.
Preliminary figures released as the polls closed put turnout at 80 percent in the Gaza Strip and 70 percent in the West Bank.
Fawziya Jarghun, 54, is one of hundreds of Palestinians living in the devastated town of Rafah, which straddles the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, whose homes have been demolished during Israeli military incursions.
"I voted for Hamas because they do things, whereas others just make promises and lie. They look after us and help us financially. I hope they will win and rebuild my house," she said, leaning on her cane.
In Rafah, the hot favourites among the 74,000-strong electorate were the Fatah-sponsored "Allegiance" and the Hamas-backed "Change and Reform List".
Hamas and Fatah vans ferried people to polling stations with Hamas delegates kitted out in green baseball caps, their Fatah counterparts in trademark black and white.
Seventy-year-old Safaa Nasr has seen her family home in Rafah's refugee camp destroyed, one son jailed in Israel and another wounded during the intifada.
"I chose those I see as good people, those who will rebuild my house and help us lead a decent life," she said, refusing to say who she voted for.
The Fatah faction, which has dominated Palestinian politics for the past five decades, was left reeling in January when Hamas recorded a landslide victory in the first local elections in its Gaza stronghold.
But the party was anxious to give nothing away.
"We are sure we're going to win. Most of the people we see coming are Fatah supporters," said Suheila Shahin, one of only eight women candidates in Rafah.
Touring polling stations, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said turnout was high but remained coy over his group's chances of victory.
"We trust our people's choice," he said.
The battle between Fatah and Hamas was expected to be closer in the West Bank where elections are being held in 76 municipalities, including the cities of Bethlehem and Qalqilya.
Despite the rivalry, election officials say the campaign has been peaceful. The Palestinians also won widespread praise in January for successfully staging a ballot to replace the late Yasser Arafat as their president.
Officials said vote counting would begin as soon as the ballot closed, with preliminary results expected from early Friday and final results due on Sunday.
Delegates from the Council of Europe and the US-based National Democratic Institute were in place to monitor the vote.
05/05/2005 16:19 GMT