The CEC Commissioners
The Central Elections Commission (CEC) was established by a presidential decree issued on April 1, 2005.
Dr. Rami Hamdallah
Chairman
Prof. Rami Hamdallah is the former Palestinian Prime Minister (2013-2019). He currently serves as the Chairperson of the Central Elections Commission in Palestine. He is also the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of An-Najah National University in Nablus, and the Chair of the Board of Trustees of An-Najah Teaching Hospital in Nablus.
Prof. Hamdallah was born and raised in Anabta in the West Bank. In 1980 he graduated from the University of Jordan with a degree in English. He then traveled to the United Kingdom for graduate studies, earning a master’s degree in linguistics (1982) from the University of Manchester, and a doctorate in applied linguistics (1988) from the University of Lancaster.
In 1982 Prof. Hamdallah worked at the English department of An-Najah National University. In addition to teaching, he served in a variety of administrative and leadership roles and published several papers on linguistics and the teaching of English as a foreign language. In 1998 he received his professorship. In 1998 he was appointed as the president of An-Najah National University.
In that post, Prof. Hamdallah enormously developed a profound reputation as an effective and visionary manager and fund-raiser. He added numerous new academic units, including the building of the University's new campus in Nablus, a medical school, a teaching hospital, and other departments devoted to science, research, and technology. The University also expanded rapidly, tripling its student body and becoming the largest university in Palestine. Outside the University, Prof. Hamdallah held positions with the Palestinian Constitution Committee. He was the General Secretary of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (2002-2013). He served also as the Chairman of the Board of the Palestine Exchange (2008-2013), and the President of the Palestinian-European-American Universities Program of Academic Cooperation (2005-2007).
Ms. Lamis Al-Alami
Secretary-General
Lamis Al-Alami, a Jerusalemite, who holds a Master’s degree in English Literature from the American University of Beirut and has obtained a second Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Ms. Al-Alami served as the dean of the UNRWA’s Women Teacher Training College in Ramallah, and then became the Director of the Education Sector at UNRWA. Moreover, Ms. Al-Alami served as the Director General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) until 2007 when she was appointed as the Minister of Education and Higher Education until 2012, and then served as the Minister of Education until 2013.
Ms. Al-Alami has been one of the Central Elections Commission (CEC) commissioners since 2002, until she was appointed as the Minister of Education and Higher Education in 2007. Furthermore, Ms. Al-Alami was reappointed as one of the CEC commissioners as per a Presidential Decree issued on June 12, 2014.
Judge Mazin Sisalem
Commissioner
Judge Sisalem obtained a degree in Law from the University of Ein Shams in Cairo in 1966. Soon after his graduation, he served at the Gaza Directorate of Legal Affairs and in the Public Prosecution office in 1968. Moreover, Mr. Sisalem served as Assistant Attorney General and later on as a Judge at the Gaza Court of Appeal, and currently is one of the judges at the Gaza Supreme Court. Mr. Sisalem has been the first representative of Palestine in the Arab Investment Court in Cairo.
Mr. Sisalem served as a board member of several national organizations and societies such as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in 1979, the Sports League from 1981 to 1982, The Palestinian Chamber of Commerce in 1991, the Gaza Bar Association as well as being a member of the Central Elections Commission (CEC) since 2002. Furthermore, Mr. Sisalem took part in the issuance of the Sisalem- Muhanna- Al-Dahdouh collection of the Palestinian Laws in effect since the Ottoman era.
Dr. Khawla Shakhshir
Commissioner
Dr. Khawla Shakhshir is a Professor of Educational Sciences in the Faculty of Education at Birzeit University, Palestine. Dr. Shakhshir has served as the Minister of Education and Higher Education under the Palestinian Unity Government, the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, as well as the Head of Education and Psychology Department and ‘Master of Education’ program, and Director of the Teachers Training Program at Birzeit University.
Dr. Shakhshir holds a BA degree in chemistry from the University of Al-Azhar in Cairo, a Diploma of Education from the University of Ain Shams in Cairo, a Masters and PhD degrees doctorate in curricula and teaching science from the University of Northern Colorado in the United States of America. Dr. Shakshir has also worked as an education consultant for a number of international programs and institutions working in Palestine, such as the UNDP, UNESCO, UNICTAD, and UNRWA, ARD, UNICEF and Save the Children. Additionally, Dr. Shakhshir served as a member of the team evaluating educational programs in the Palestinian universities and has served a board member of the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Commission (AQAC) in Palestine. Dr. Shakhsir has several published research in peer-reviewed journals as well as several published books.
Advocate Shukri Nashashibi
Commissioner
Advocate Shukri Ibrahim Shukri Nashashibi was born in Jerusalem in 1953. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Law from the Arab University of Beirut branch in Alexandria in 1978.
Adv. Nashishibi is a practicing lawyer and held a number of positions in the Judiciary, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Justice in the West Bank. Moreover, Adv. Nashashibi was a member of the Advisory Board for a project to develop the Palestinian legal framework and in the Elections Appeal Court in 1995. Furthermore, Adv. Nashashibi was a former member of the Central Election Commission (CEC) between 2003 and 2005 and a board memeber of the Bar Association and the National Committee to combat money laundering. Adv. Nashashibi has contributed to many legal studies and publications.
Judge Ishac Muhanna
Commissioner
Judge Muhanna obtained a degree in Law from Alexandria University in Egypt in 1966 and a Law practice license in 1968. Muhanna worked as a Prosecutor and Deputy President of Gaza Supreme Court. Mr. Muhanna also obtained a certificate in Judicial Training from the National Judicial College in Nevada, USA, in 2005.
Mr. Muhanna was a board member of several national organizations and associations such as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in 1979, the Sports League (1981-1982), Gaza Bar Association, as well as being a member of the Elections Commission since 2005 and a member of the board of trustees of Al- Azhar University in Gaza since 2006. Mr. Muhanna also participated in the issuance of the Sisalem-Muhanna-Al Dahdouh collection of the Palestinian Laws in effect since the Ottoman era.
Mr. Ma’moun Abu Shahla
Commissioner
Mr. Ma'moun Abu Shahlah was born in Akka in 1942, lived and received his education in the city of Gaza, in addition to Cairo, Amman, Tripoli and the United Kingdom. Mr. Abu Shahlah started his career as the Deputy Drector of Audit at the Palestinian National Fund, which was affiliated with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), followed by assuming the role of managing the development of the Fund's financial resources between 1965 and 1971.
Moreover, Abu Shahlah worked as the director of a group of industrial and commercial companies in Libya between 1970 and 1982. Furthermore, during his stay in the United Kingdom, he established several commercial companies.
Abu Shahlah assumed numerous public positions over the last two decades, including membership of the National and Central Councils of the PLO, membership of the Board of Trustees of Al-Azhar University, and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank of Palestine, membership of PalTel Group Board of Directors. Additionally, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the Palestinian Pension Authority, and contributed to several other national institutions and companies.
Abu Shahlah filled the position of the Minister of Labour during the Palestinian National Unity Government between 2014 and 2019, and became one of the CEC's Commissioners on June 13, 2025.
Dr. Yusuf Awadallah
Commissioner
Dr. Yusuf Ramadan Awadallah is a dentist and oral surgeon who studied medicine at Cairo University and graduated in 1972. Dr. Awadallah observed most of trade union elections that were held in the Gaza Strip since 1978. Moreover, Dr. Awadallah is a founding member of the Union of Health Work Committees, the Chairman of its Board of Directors in the Gaza Strip and a member of the Palestinian Health Council since 1990.
Dr. Awadallah served as a board member of many organizations such as the Red Crescent Society in Gaza, the Palestinian NGO Network and the Association of the Central Blood Bank among others.
Furthermore, Dr. Awadallah held the position of Secretary General of the Arab Medical Association in Gaza and one of its board members from 1979 until 1993, a board member of the Palestine Future Presidential Association, and the Director General of the department of coordination with NGOs at the Ministry of Health from 1996 until 2010.
Dr. Ahmed al-Khalidi
Commissioner
Dr. Al-Khalidi became a Law professor in 1993, teaching in Libyan universities and An-Najah National University, where he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Law during the period between 2001 and 2007.
Furthermore, Al-Khalidi served as the Head of a research unit at the Legislative Council, and he was one of the members of the Palestinian Law drafting committee, in addition to being the deputy head of the Palestinian Constitution committee and the Head of the Law Drafting committee. Moreover, Dr. Al-Khalidi was a former Minister of Justice and a member of the Palestinian National Council since 1976.
-
-
-