The European Union is handing over three quarters of a million Euros to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission to help successfully pave the way for any future elections in the occupied Palestinian territory. Mr. Roy Dickinson, the European Commission's Head of Operations in Jerusalem, and Dr. Hanna Nassir, the Chairman of the Central Elections Commission (CEC) today signed a grant agreement for 750,000 Euro (approximately 3.7 million NIS) to fund four projects, which will be implemented by the CEC in the coming twelve months.
“This grant is highly appreciated and the CEC is thankful for the European Union’s continued support. The European Union has, over a number of years, played a vital role in supporting the Palestinian people and their institutions and has specifically funded several projects that enabled the CEC to achieve its goals to conduct free and fair elections,” said Dr. Nasir on signing the agreement. Mr. Roy Dickinson said: "The European Union has always appreciated the professionalism, independence and effectiveness of the Central Elections Commission. We will continue to be a reliable partner for the CEC and will support them in their continued efforts towards the creation of an independent, viable and democratic Palestinian state."
The CEC will use the grant for a wide-scale elections outreach programme in Palestinian schools, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education. The CEC will train school teachers on the elections system and provide materials to enable them to organize mock elections in schools to familiarise students with the Palestinian elections system.
The grant will also finance the CEC's planned voter registration exercise in 2009, with voter registration of first-time voters in schools, the deployment of mobile registration teams and the establishment of a continuous voter registration system.
The European Union grant will also allow the CEC to carry out vital upgrades to their
IT capacities and to introduce an electronic documents management system to further bolster the CEC's operational capacity.
The European Union, through its PEGASE mechanism, provides assistance to help improve the quality of life of Palestinians across the territory as well as funding programmes and projects to help build the future Palestinian state.