How did the first Palestinian Legislative Council election in 1996 favor Fatah?

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Oslo Accords: Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Self-Rule — Palestinian Authority U.S. Pres. Bill Clinton (center) looking on as Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (left) shakes hands with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat after the signing of the Declaration of Principles on Palestinian Self-Rule, September 1993.

The first election for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in 1996 utilized a majority system in which candidates who received the most votes in their respective districts won representation. This electoral structure heavily favored Fatah, which was the dominant faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization.1

As a result of this system, Fatah secured 55 of the 88 available seats in the council. Furthermore, the outcome was influenced by the fact that Hamas—the primary political rival to Fatah at the time—chose not to participate in the 1996 elections, maintaining its opposition to the Oslo Accords and the peace process.23