Gaza (QNN)- The political party Hamas re-elected Yahya Sinwar, 59, on Wednesday as its president in the Gaza Strip in its internal elections. Hamas overall chief Ismail Haniyeh, currently based in Qatar, congratulated Sinwar and said the election marked "a victory" for the party which won Palestine's latest elections in 2007. Sinwar, a former commander of Hamas's military branch, served more than two decades in an Israeli jail before he was released in 2011 as a part of a prisoner exchange. An intense competition marked the election between Sinwar and Nizar Awadallah, another of the movement's prominent leaders in the Gaza Strip. Sinwar won with 167 votes against Awadallah, who got 147 votes, according to information otained by QNN. Hamas began its internal election process on Feb. 18, 2021. It will conclude at the end of March. Al-Sinwar was first elected as chief of Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2017.