Annual Report - Palestinian Center for Human Rights

Election Year in the PNA: Achievements and Shortcomings
The year 2005 was “elections year” for Palestinians in the OPT. After the smooth
transition of power following the death of President Arafat in November 2004, a
number of key developments took place in the democratic reform process of the PNA
during 2005. However, this process was marred by a number of shortcomings by the
PNA.
The presidential election was held on 9 January 2005. This election reflected the will
of the Palestinian people to exercise their right to vote and despite a few problems
encountered on polling day, the overall integrity of the election was not affected. A
number of further democratic measures were scheduled to follow this important
development. These included the PLC elections scheduled to take place on 17 July
2005, to allow the election of a new PLC in place of the existing council, whose term
had officially ended back in May 1999. In addition, the remaining stages of local
council elections, which had started in December 2004, were scheduled to be held at
various stages throughout 2005. The PLC elections were not held as planned in July
2005 and were delayed until 25 January 2006. The local council elections were
rescheduled a number of times and, by the end of the year, elections had not taken
place in all councils as had been planned.
Presidential Election
The former Palestinian President, Yaser Arafat, died on 11 November 2004.
Following the sudden death of the President, the Palestinian leadership embarked on a
series of important and historic steps in order to achieve a peaceful transition of
power. This process culminated with the announcement by the caretaker president,
Mr. Rawhi Fattouh, that a Presidential election would be held on 9 January 2006. The
Presidential election, in all its stages, was an historic landmark for the Palestinian
people, despite the negative environment stemming from the Israeli military
occupation and war crimes against Palestinian civilians. Palestinians cast their votes
on polling day as a demonstration of their defiance against the occupation, as well as a
demonstration of their determination to exercise their democratic rights despite the
occupation.
As part of its efforts to support democratic reforms, PCHR cooperated with 26 civil
society organizations in monitoring all stages of the electoral process. Three hundred
monitors were used in this campaign. In addition, monitoring reports from all polling
centers in the Gaza Strip indicated that the elections were conducted in a peaceful
manner, reflecting a high degree of organization. Nonetheless, some violations were
registered. These violations were committed by the CEC and by supporters of
candidates and parties. Nonetheless, the Presidential election was carried out in a fair
and transparent manner overall, and the registered violations did not undermine the
overall integrity of the democratic process.
Postponement of the PLC Elections
On 8 January 2005 and on the eve of the Presidential election, the interim president,
Mr. Rawhi Fattouh, issued Presidential Decree #5 of 2005 calling for legislative
elections. Article 1 of the decree stated, “The Palestinian people in Jerusalem, the
54