Amendment to Palestinian Election Law: Unilateral Decisions and a Tool for Exclusion

The Gaza Center for Human Rights warned of the repercussions of repeated amendments to the election law through decisions by law, in the absence of an elected legislative council. It considered that requiring candidates to adhere to a specific political program and decisions could turn candidacy conditions into a tool for political exclusion and restrict pluralism, and criticized granting the authority to postpone presidential elections or separate them from legislative ones without clear criteria, calling for a comprehensive national dialogue.

The Gaza Center for Human Rights, in a press statement issued on Tuesday, warned of the repercussions of repeated amendments to the Palestinian election law through decisions by law, in the absence of an elected legislative council. The Center considered that continuing to amend the rules governing the electoral process through this mechanism could deepen unilateralism in making political rules. The Center explained that requiring candidates to adhere to a specific political program and decisions could turn candidacy conditions into a tool for political exclusion and restrict pluralism, calling for ensuring the right of candidates to participate without political restrictions that limit competition. The Center also criticized granting the authority to postpone presidential elections or separate them from legislative elections without setting clear criteria, warning that this could open the door to political estimates in determining the dates of electoral entitlements. The Center called for reconsidering the political restrictions imposed on candidacy and opening a comprehensive national dialogue on the rules governing the electoral process, to ensure free and fair elections in which the ballot box and the will of voters are the primary criterion for choosing the people's representatives.