The first round of local elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was held in four phases.

• The first phase was carried out on 23/12/2004.

• The second phase was carried out on 5/5/2005.

• The third phase was carried out on 29/9/2005.

• The fourth phase was carried out on 15/12/2005.

The first and second phases of local elections were held in accordance with Elections Law No. 5 of 1996 following the simple majority system (districts). Following the completion of these phases, Local Councils’ Elections Law No. 10 of 2005 was issued. The third and fourth phases of elections were carried out according to this law and its amendments, on the basis of the proportional representation system (lists).

Under this system, nomination is conducted by closed list. Each list’s candidates are ordered based on candidate priority, but the names of the candidates do not appear on the ballot paper. The number of candidates in a list should not be less than the majority of local council seats in that list’s locality.

Each list which obtains 8% or more of the valid votes is allocated a number of seats in proportion to the number of valid votes obtained, following the Sainte-Laguë method. The seats are allocated to the candidates according to the order of their names in the list.