9,000 Students Vote in 107 Schools in the West Bank

9,000 students have voted this week as part of the project “Enhancing Elections Education in Schools 2009” which is implemented by the CEC in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education ,  the project is implemented in 107 schools in the West Bank including Jerusalem and funded by the European Union.
Throughout last week , the candidates promoted their election programs in various ways using cardboard plates and publications distributed among students , while others used PowerPoint presentations to explain their programs.

The project passed through several phases in which students formed an election commission in each class, these commissions included 436 students who supervised the implementation of the electoral process. Moreover, 639 observers followed and observed the process making sure that it is implemented according to the procedures in a transparent manner. Later, the students prepared the voters list in order for the nomination process to begin, then the candidates will be able to promote for their election programs which will be followed by the voting process , counting of votes and proclamation of results.

Hisham Kuhail , Chief Electoral Officer of the CEC , said it is very important to spread the electoral awareness among students through giving them the chance to manage all phases of the electoral process . In addition, Mr. Kuhail appreciated the role of the Ministry of Education which helped in achieving the goals of the project.
In order to achieve the goals of the project , the students voted and counted the votes in a way that is similar to a large extent with the actual electoral process. The students were able to vote after making sure that their name is listed in the voters list , then they received the stamped ballot paper , marked and folded the paper in front of the observers.

The counting procedures were conducted in the presence of candidates , observers and students parents . The ballot box was emptied on a table in front of the students , then the election commission began counting votes , until the results were announced.
Once the results have been announced , the school was filled with joy and cheering for the winners , the winners were carried in shoulders and distributed chocolate celebrating their winning.

The European Union currently supports the Central Elections Commission with a EUR 750.000 grant to upgrade the CEC's IT systems, establish an electronic document management system and to reach out to young voters. Previously, the European Union has been the single largest donor to Palestinian elections and stands ready to support the CEC’s future activities and projects