Independent candidates dominated the Palestinian local elections, winning 64 percent of seats, up from just 37 percent five years ago, according to official results released on Sunday. Palestinians’ participation rates in the West Bank municipal elections, which took place on Saturday was 53.7 percent, Hanna Nasser, president of the Central Election Commission, announced in a press conference late on Saturday in Ramallah. Nasser said that more than 377.500 Palestinians cast their votes in some 50 cities and towns across the West Bank. “Voting went on smoothly without any major irregularities r…