RAMALLAH, Dec. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- More than 140,000 Palestinians in the West Bank are heading to 26 ballots on Thursday to elect mayors and municipal councils for their towns and villages.

   Palestinian National Authority (PNA) officials said it is the first time since 1976 that Palestinians in the West Bank go for municipal elections in the Palestinian territories.

   Since then, mayors and municipal councils were nominated either by Israel or by Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

   Elections were launched Thursday in 26 local ballots, excluding big Palestinian cities like Ramallah, Nablus and Hebron. The big cities would start municipal elections in the second and the third stages.

   The second stage of municipal elections for big cities would take place two weeks later, and the third stage would include the Gaza Strip.

   The Palestinian municipal affairs ministry affirmed on Thursday that the municipal election campaign finished on Wednesday with 886 candidates, including 139 women.

   The voting started at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) Thursday morning.

Ballots would be closed down at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT).

   The ministry said in a statement that vote counting would take three hours and the results of the elections would be declared on Saturday morning in a news conference by Minister of Municipal Affairs Jamal Shoubaki.

   Israel had approved the redeployment of 1,000 Palestinian police officers around the election centers in the West Bank to guarantee security and prevent any violence that might take place.

   PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas said the municipal elections were the beginning of a comprehensive national plan to renew the legitimacy of the PNA.

   The municipal elections "are part of a comprehensive national plan to renew the legitimacy through ballots," Abbas said in a statement Thursday.

   He called on the Palestinians to elect their municipal councils by vote in order to "promote democracy and law through their complete participation in it."

   "We hope that we will see soon the flag of an independent Palestinian state flattering on the fences of occupied Jerusalem's mosques and churches," said Abbas.

   Abbas said holding elections was decided by late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in his speech at the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) four months ago. Arafat died on Nov. 11.

   "Real democracy and freedom begin with ending the occupation and the Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967 and the resumption of the peace process to reach a permanent peaceful solution," Abbas said.

   Meanwhile, the Islamic resistance movement Hamas announced Thursday that it would participate in the municipal elections.

   "Hamas movement strongly supports a comprehensive change," the movement said in a statement sent to reporters.

   Holding municipal elections in three stages in the West Bank and Gaza had been criticized by some Palestinian factions, in particular Hamas, which sees there is no justification for holding it on stages.

   The ministry of municipal affairs said the reason behind dividing the municipal elections into stages "is due to the Israeli army security measures imposed on the Palestinian territories, mainly the sieges and closures."

   Thursday morning, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei visited the Abu Deis town closed to Jerusalem and cast his vote for the municipal elections.

   After voting, Qurei told reporters that the elections "are the choice of the people and an evidence for the non centralization to rule the life of the Palestinian people on democratic basis."

   "The success of the municipal elections would be a test for the success of presidential and legislative elections that would be held in the Palestinian territories," said Qurei.

   Asked about Hamas participation, Qurei said that the Palestinian Authority "welcomes the participation of Hamas movement in the municipal elections or any other elections."  Enditem