Hamas supporters on the left, with the green flags, Fateh on the right with yellow flags. Photograph: Laila el-Haddad
With less than 48 hours left until election day, candidates are making a last appeal to voters for their support, writes Laila el-Haddad.
Ruling party Fatah held their final rally in front of the late Yasser Arafat's home in Gaza and another in Khan Yunis attended by tens of thousands of supporters and led by young Guard icon Mohammad Dahalan, who gave a speech marked with verbal jabs against opposition group Hamas. The party's armed wing, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is responsible for several kidnappings of foreigners, held a small rally of their own, shooting into the air despite promises by Fatah officials to keep the pre-election campaigners weapon-free.
In some instances, Fatah campaigners went door-to-door, in a last-ditch effort to win over voters. Some played on fears of some Palestinians, warning people that voting for Hamas would mean voting for a Taliban-esque rule, where weddings and other parties would be banned. "Is that what you really want," one Fatah woman, posing as a pollster, asked a cousin of mine yesterday.
Security forces cast their ballots a few days ahead of the scheduled elections, to free them up for duty on election day.
Throngs of security officials crowded in front of one of Gaza's two polling stations, amid an atmosphere that very much resembled that of a fair.
Vendors sold juice and snacks, as dozens of Hamas and Fateh men stood side by side waving their respective party flags silently, with campaign music blasting in the background.
Fatah distributed a small card explaining to voters how to properly cast their ballot; "Simply place a check near 'Fatah'" it read, all other lists blurred out.
Inside, voters passed through an array of identification checks, including getting marked with the ever-popular seemingly-permanent finger ink used to prevent re-voting.
I spotted some international EU observers so decided to have a word with them on how things were proceeding.
"Not now, we can talk later."
"And later is when?" I asked, genuinely.
"Five minutes or five hours," she said sternly.
Well, at least they are taking their jobs seriously, I thought.
"Are you sure you're a journalist? Can I see identification?" added the woman.
Then, instead of taking questions, the stuffy observer wrote down her organisation's website.
"And that's E - U ... which stands for Yooo-ro-pean Yooon-yun" she said slowly, to make sure I understood, because obviously I was some sort of election groupy who wanted a real live international observer's autograph.
"Euro-pean Un-i-on. Like PA for Palestinian Authority?" Ok, that's what I wish I said. How I really responded: blank, dumbfounded stare.
To help the voting process go smoothly, the Central Elections Committee published page-long ad yesterday explaining to voters how to properly cast their ballots.
Any aberrations, they warned, will disqualify it. Only a check or an X may be used to indicate the preferred choice in the provided boxes.
They then provide a series of example null ballots: no other marks besides an X or a check may used, such as say, an O. No double Xs, as in XX. No multiple choices. No unstamped ballot sheets. No comments of any sort on the ballot. And finally, no checks or X's outside of the designated "X box". Why does it feel like we're taking an exam?
To simplify matters, each list or individual nominee is designated with a symbol next to it, such as ???????. Ok, sounds simple enough, but in the days of hanging and dimpled chads you never can be too careful. Especially given a poll released today showed 3.3% of the participants cast blank ballots.
You can also find out where your designated voting center is by plugging in your ID number on the Central Election Committee's website in a nifty little operation. Your name appears along with the address of your polling centre, and a message advising you to "Please note down the information above. It will help you have a much smoother and more enjoyable voting experience on Election Day."
Personally, I just want the elections to be over and done with. Our walls have been disfigured. Our privacy invaded (recently with SMS messages). And Gaza resembles a frightening and horribly decorated circus (I pity the custodial workers come Thursday morning), what with the banners, flags, and incessant campaign trolleys perusing down the city streets, blasting music and messages. Even the famous Statue of the Unknown Soldier in Gaza City's main park has been decorated with Fateh paraphenilia.
"I think it's kind of pretty," one woman objected. "The whole thing is so exciting."
Ok so maybe I'm being overly cynical. I guess I can see how thousands of posters of grim-faced men splashed across every available inch of space and a skyline void of, well, sky, can be pretty. Forgive me.
* This is the fourth in a series of blog posts on the forthcoming Palestinian elections from freelance journalist and blogger Laila el-Haddad, who lives in Gaza City. Laila's blog, Raising Yousuf, is named after her two-year-old son. You can read her first post here, her second post here, and her third post here.
