The Elections Sectorial Working Group (SWG) convened today, Wednesday, December 10, 2025, its regular meeting hosted by the Central Elections Commission (CEC) at its headquarters in Al-Bireh, chaired by Dr. Rami Hamdallah, CEC’s Chairman.
The meeting was attended by the SWG Deputy Chair, the EU Deputy Representative to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, James Rizzo, in addition to a group of representatives of diplomatic missions to Palestine, ministries, local and international organizations and UN Agencies active in democracy and who provide support to elections.
Dr. Hamdallah welcomed the guests and apprised them on the latest political updates in Palestine, where the Gaza Strip is suffering difficult humanitarian conditions even after ending the Israeli assault and announcing the ceasefire, making it extremely difficult to conduct elections there in the near future.
In this context, Dr. Hamdallah made note of the Cabinet’s Decision scheduling April 25, 2026 as the date for conducting local elections in Palestine, in accordance with the new local elections law, which was recently endorsed, and encompasses several changes, most importantly the electoral system. Furthermore, Dr. Hamdallah emphasized that his will increase the challenges faced by the CEC to organize the electoral process in accordance with the new law and in light of the challenging financial and field conditions, despite its preparedness of the CEC and readiness to tackle such challenges and to conduct the elections as scheduled.
Moreover, the meeting discussed the importance of supporting the CEC during and after the electoral process to enable the CEC to conduct its activities and implement its programs over the course of the year, in a way that guarantees sustainability and continuity of its work despite the difficult financial circumstances faced by the State of Palestine.
It is worth mentioning that the Elections SWG is comprised of donor countries and organizations active in democracy and good governance. SWG, which is chaired by the CEC, with the Ministry of Planning as the Secretariat, convenes regularly to discuss the latest updates related to elections and democracy in Palestine.