Following the cabinet’s decision to call for local council elections on 17 July 2010 in all of the Palestinian territories, the Central Elections Commission (CEC) issued a statement confirming its readiness to administer elections accordingly. In the statement, the CEC, called on all political parties, factions and other electoral stakeholders to cooperate with the CEC staff and facilitate their work to ensure free and fair elections.
Since the cabinet’s decision was issued, the updating of the voter registry has become of paramount importance as it has not been updated for more than three years. Therefore, the CEC is pleased to announce that, as of this morning, it has commenced the process of updating the voter registry. This process will last until the 16th of March after which date, there will be no further registering before the local elections are held.
The update process aims at registering voters who have not previously been registered, especially young Palestinians who have become eligible to vote since the last registry update. During this period, registered voters can also change their registry data (basically residence), thus ensuring an accurate and up to date voter registry to serve both local and general elections. The number of eligible voters who were not registered in the past three years is estimated to be more than 350,000 in the West Bank and 150,000 in the Gaza Strip.
Initially, the CEC planned to update the voter registry by opening 773 registry centers in the West Bank and 254 centers in the Gaza Strip. Unfortunately, due to the internal political situation, the CEC will not be able to update the voter registry in Gaza, at least for the time being. If the situation is resolved with enough time before election day, the CEC will intensify its efforts to update the voter registry in Gaza.
Upon completion of the registration process, the CEC will prepare a preliminary voter registry for exhibition and challenge, which will take place from25-29 April. During this time, citizens will be able to review the register and make the necessary challenge if need be according to a set of legal procedures. The CEC, afterwards, will prepare the final voter registry. As it has done in previous elections, the CEC will distribute copies of the final voter registry to all political parties and factions.
In order to carry out these elections, the CEC has developed a comprehensive plan which includes recruitment and training of more than two thousand staff in all districts and accrediting local and international observation missions and media outlets wishing to observer or cover the elections. The CEC has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and coordinated with UNRWA to identify CEC needs of schools and staff for all phases of the electoral process. The CEC is also coordinating with the relevant ministries and organizations that work on electoral issues.
In case the CEC cannot hold elections in the allotted time in one or more locality, the commission will assess the technical situation and submit its recommendations to the cabinet for a decision. Article 5 of the effective law No. 10 of 2005 allows, “the Central Elections Commission to request the postponement of the elections in one or more local councils for a period not exceeding four weeks for technical needs and elections integrity purposes. The postponement decision shall be issued by the Cabinet”.
The nomination process is scheduled to take place between 1-10 June. At the end of the nomination period, the final register of electoral lists will be published. Electoral campaigning will take place from 3 July until 15 July and absolutely no campaigning is allowed to take place for 24 hours prior to polling day. Polling day is scheduled for 17 July, 2010
The CEC has taken all possible practical initiatives since the decision was issued to hold elections in order to create the appropriate atmosphere for conducting free and fair elections through conducting a series of meetings with all election stakeholders. The CEC met with the Palestinian Prime Minister and briefed him on elections preparations. During the meeting, the CEC asserted the importance of the role of the government in providing the necessary circumstances that allow and ensure the participation of all interested individuals and political parties and factions in the electoral process. The CEC also met with the Minister of Local Governance for the same purpose. The CEC confirms that providing such an atmosphere is crucial to the success of the democratic process in Palestine. With the same aim, the CEC has also met with representatives of political parties who expressed interest in participating in local elections and stressed the importance of free and fair elections.
On this occasion, the CEC confirms that it considers elections a legal obligation and an essential part of the democratic process which the Palestinian people should deal with positively. Despite the ongoing Israeli occupation and the internal division, the democratic process has become part of the attributes of the Palestinian people and may become a part of their legacy. Therefore, we should all contribute to preserving this approach and this legacy. We, the CEC, will do our best to strengthen the concepts of integrity and justice in the community, but achieving this goal requires help from all Palestinian citizens, political factions and authorities. The Central Elections Commission calls on all Palestinians to contribute to the success of voter registration, polling and the democratic process as a whole, which we should all take pride in.