Members of Hamas's Shura Council began a secret voting process on Saturday to elect the head of the movement's political bureau, replacing its five-member leadership council.

A source told Al-Sharq that members of the Shura Council in the Gaza Strip voted "almost unanimously" to choose Khalil al-Hayya as head of the movement's political bureau.

The source explained that "the final decision will be made after the council members in the West Bank and abroad finish voting," noting that several members imprisoned in Israeli prisons are also voting.

He added that the voting process, which is conducted in complete secrecy and through complex mechanisms, is ongoing in the West Bank and abroad, and is expected to conclude this week.

Hamas had previously completed the election of the political bureau and members of the Shura Council for each of the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and abroad (diaspora), in addition to electing the members of its general political bureau, which consists of 18 members including a representative of its military wing, and electing the general Shura Council, which is the highest advisory body in the movement and includes representatives from various regions.

According to the movement's organizational structure, Hamas holds internal elections every four years. When a new leader is chosen, the movement will revert to its previous administrative system, thereby dissolving its five-member leadership council.

Hamas had formed a leadership council comprising five members, chaired by the head of the Shura Council Muhammad Darwish, known as "Abu Omar Hassan," and including the movement's leaders in Gaza, the West Bank, and abroad, as well as the secretary of the political bureau, who is the fifth member. However, the movement does not disclose his identity for security reasons.

The formation of the leadership council came after the assassination of the movement's leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31, 2024, followed by the assassination of his successor Yahya Sinwar in October 2024.

A Hamas official told Al-Sharq on Friday that the movement's leadership decided to finalize the electoral process through a new round of voting in the Shura Council, explaining that the competition was narrowed down between the movement's leader abroad Khaled Meshaal and the head of Hamas in Gaza and its negotiating delegation chief Khalil al-Hayya.

Since the month of Ramadan, the decision on this position has been postponed, despite the completion of internal elections in the three regions: Gaza Strip, West Bank, and abroad, due to regional developments.

A well-informed Hamas source said that the al-Qassam Brigades finally succeeded in selecting its representative in the political bureau, after Israel assassinated the military wing's leader Muhammad al-Haddad in May.