Thousands of Palestinians voted yesterday in local elections seen as a test of the political clout of Hamas candidates ahead of a January parliamentary poll. The third phase of local elections for more than 1,000 council seats in the occupied West Bank was also the first Palestinian ballot since Israel completed its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Sept. 12 after 38 years of occupation. Election monitors said turnout was high in some West Bank villages with Palestinians rushing to voting centers decorated with posters and national flags as soon as they opened. Armed police stood guard.President Mahmoud Abbasâ dominant Fatah movement faces stiff competition from rival Hamas, whose charity networks, lack of corruption and suicide bombings have won many Palestinian hearts during five years of fighting with Israel. âParticularly after Israelâs withdrawal from Gaza and the run-up to legislative elections, the municipal results will have important political implications,â Jamal Al-Shobaki, head of the Higher Commission for Local Elections, told Reuters. Shobaki put the turnout of the 127,000 voters at above 70 percent around an hour before polls closed at 7:00pm (1600 GMT). While there was no official extension, organizers said that people who were still queuing would all be allowed their democratic right. Some 2,478 candidates vied yesterday for 1,018 seats.