The Elections Ad Hoc Sector Working Group - Palestine (EAH SWG), convened today, Wednesday, for one of its regular meetings at the Head Quarters (HQ) of the Central Elections Commission (CEC) in Al-Bireh, chaired by Dr. Rami Hamdallah, CEC’s Chairman.
The meeting was attended by the SWG Deputy Chair; the European Union (EU) Deputy Representative to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Mr. James Rizzo, along with representatives from a number of countries, international organizations and UN agencies active in the area of democracy and supportive of elections.
In His Excelllency’s opening remarks, Dr. Hamdallah welcomed the guests, providing an overview of the political developments in Palestine, especially with the continued aggression on the Gaza Strip since almost two years, as well as the consequent misery, horrors and human suffering, which makes conducting elections for the foreseeable future impossible. Furthermore, His Excellency, noted the accelerating measures the West Bank is exposed to including the settlement expansion, which aims to undermine the two-state solution and segregate the Palestinian cities, all the way to the annexation of the West Bank, all of which is coinciding with the suffocating financial crisis resulting from holding off the Palestinian Clearing Funds.
With regards to the local councils’ elections and the new Local Elections Law, CEC’s Chairman elaborated that conducting local elections in accordance with the new law, following its endorsement, requires a preparation period of 6-7 months, and that running elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is contingent to the political and security environment. Meanwhile, His Excellency reiterated the importance of General and Local Elections in Palestine.
It is worth mentioning that the EAH SWG is comprised of donor countries and organizations active in the areas of democracy and good governance, and is chaired by the CEC with the Ministry of Planning as its Secretariat. EAH SWG convenes regular meetings to discuss the latest updates related to elections and democracy in Palestine.