Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chief Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that the municipal elections were the beginning of a comprehensive national plan to renew the legitimacy of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).

Abbas said in a statement that the municipal elections that started Thursday in the West Bank "are part of a comprehensive national plan to renew the legitimacy through ballots."

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.

More than 140,000 Palestinians in the West Bank are heading on Thursday to the ballots in 26 municipal elections to elect mayors and municipal councils for towns and villages.

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.

Source: Xinhua