Law No. ( ) of 2005
On the Amendment to Article (73) of the Elections Law No. (9)
of 2005
President of the PLO Executive Committee
President of the Palestinian National Authority
Having reviewed:
Article (41) of the amended basic law of 2003 and its amendments and,
Based on what has been approved by the Legislative Council in its session held on 08/12/2005 and,
Based on the powers bestowed upon me
We hereby promulgate the following law:
Article (1)
Article (73) of the general Elections Law No. 9 of 2005 shall be amended to read as follows:
1. Polling day shall be an official holiday.
2. Polling shall commence at 7 am on the assigned election day and shall finish at 7 pm on that day.
3. The CEC may, upon the request of the polling center president, extend the polling period following a decision of the CEC Chairman, provided that it does not exceed two hours. The extension should only be limited to polling centers where extension is a necessity and to people already present at the polling centers.
4. The CEC may establish regulations which enable the security forces to cast their votes 48 hours prior to polling day as per Article 2 above, provided that the counting of their votes shall be conducted at the same time of the counting of votes for the general elections, whereby the electoral process is considered as an indivisible unit.
Article (2)
Whatever goes against the provisions of this law shall be considered void and null.
Article (3)
All competent authorities, each within its own jurisdiction, shall implement this Law. The Law shall enter into force upon its issuance and shall be published in the Official Gazette.
Issued in the city of Gaza on 08/12/2005
Mahmoud Abbas
President of the PLO Executive Committee
President of the Palestinian National Authority