Today, the CEC met in Ramallah to discuss its preparations for the upcoming elections scheduled for 25 January, 2006 and the electoral campaigning process which commenced today and will continue for 21 days.
The CEC decided to refer cases of violation of electoral campaign regulations to the Attorney General. Electoral campaigning is subject to legal regulations specified in the Elections Law No. (9) 2005. Specifically, the law assigned the electoral campaign period for 21 days, commencing 22 days before the official polling day and ending 24 hours before polling day. The law also decided on the locations where electoral campaigning is prohibited, such as mosques, churches and government institutions.
The law prohibited the official media and the executive authority from conducting any activity that may be perceived as privileging one candidate over another or one list over another, and asked them to remain neutral during the electoral campaigning process.