2022-02-14

West Bank

West Bank / Announcement / Core Program / position paper

Ladies and Gentlemen in the Central Elections Commission (CEC),

Subject: Restricting the right of citizens to run for local councils’ elections in their second phase

The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession “MUSAWA” in its capacity as an independent civil monitoring body on elections that is accredited by your esteemed commission, and as a body that is responsible for monitoring the electoral process in all of its phases and requirements starting from the political and legal environment, through the phases of the electoral process from the registration in the electoral roll and running for elections and until the announcement of results, guided by the constitutional standards, values ​​and principles guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence and the Palestinian Basic Law, being the social contract that transcends all other legislations, regulations, decisions and directives, which in turn must respect and not deviate in any way from the texts and provisions contained therein, MUSAWA expresses its best regards, and acknowledges its receipt of a written complaint from “Mazare' al-Nubani for All” bloc that is attached to this memorandum stating that the Mazare' al-Nubani Local Council’s Steering Committee refused to provide the members of the bloc with a clearance for the purposes of the bloc applying for candidacy in the local council elections in its second phase, despite having previously obtained that clearance in the first stage of the local elections, the complainants also believe, according to what was stated in their complaint, that the reason for not being provided with clearance aims to deprive them of their right to run for elections. The complainants also pointed out that one of the citizens wishing to run for the municipal elections in Hebron wrote on his Facebook page what he described as a complaint and an appeal that the municipal council obstructs his right to obtain a clearance for the purpose of ensuring his running for the elections for council membership, and asking the human rights institutions and the civil bodies monitoring the elections including “MUSAWA” to work on guaranteeing his right and obliging the council to provide him with a clearance as soon as possible, and in a manner that does not impede his right to run for elections.

We believe that what is stipulated in Articles 2, 5, 9, 10, 26 and 32 is decisive since Article 2 clearly states, without controversy or difference in interpretation, that “the people are the source of power…etc.”, moreover, Article 5 stated that “The governing system in Palestine shall be a democratic parliamentary system, based upon political and party pluralism.”, while Article 9 stipulated that “Palestinians shall be equal before the law and the judiciary, without distinction based upon race, sex, color, religion, political views or disability.” Even more, Paragraph 1 of Article 10 provided that “Basic human rights and liberties shall be protected and respected” whereas Article 26 stated that “Palestinians [All Palestinians as a whole with no discrimination and with all their varieties] shall have the right to participate in political life, both individually and in groups.  They shall have the following rights in particular: 1…, 2…, 3 to vote, to nominate candidates and to run as candidates for election, in order to have representatives elected through universal suffrage in accordance with the law, 4 to hold public office and positions, in accordance with the principle of equal opportunities, 5…”, and Article 32 stipulated that “Any violation of any personal freedom, of the sanctity of the private life of human beings, or of any of the rights or liberties that have been guaranteed by law or by this Basic Law shall be considered a crime. Criminal and civil cases resulting from such violations may not be subject to any statute of limitations. The National Authority shall guarantee a fair remedy to those who suffer from such damage.”

In view of the clarity of these constitutional texts, the right to stand for elections is a constitutional right that may not be restricted in a way that abolishes it, and all the prerequisites for exercising and enjoying this right must not constitute a reason obstructing a citizen from enjoying it or preventing her/him from exercising it as an inalienable constitutional right on one hand. On the other hand, since the law has entrusted your esteemed commission with the power to supervise the entire electoral process in a manner that guarantees its impartiality and integrity and the right to community participation in it without a restriction or a condition that would prejudice the right to such participation as a voter or candidate, and since the fulfillment of the candidate’s financial obligations for the local council proves its fulfillment in all ways and is limited to the legal fees and taxes that belong to the local council unlike other obligations except for electricity that is owned by some local councils, and do not include, in any way, any financial or tax obligation that does not belong to the local council itself, even if it was in essence, a civil dispute that does not impede the citizen’s exercise of her/his right to run for elections, making it an organizational measure for exercising the right to vote only, and in a manner that does not nullify that right, and the dispute over financial obligations can be resolved by the competent court, making the arbitrariness of providing a clearance a restriction and an abolishment of the right to run for elections, the thing that contradicts the Basic Law and the constitutional values, principles and rights.

On the basis of the competence, specializations and powers of your esteemed commission, the duty to protect the right to run for elections falls on the shoulders of your esteemed commission, which requires you to instruct all local councils or steering committees to quickly provide those wishing to run for elections their clearance without delay, procrastination or postponement, or to provide them with the justifications for their refusal to issue clearance certificates, so that the candidates would be able to present their documents in support of their payment of their financial obligations and the illegality of the decisions refusing to provide them with clearance certificates, and in the same context, address the Ministry of Local Government and the Security Services and all departments of the executive authority to ensure their commitment not to prejudice the rights of citizens to vote and run for elections freely and without any form of pressure or influence in a way that makes hem lose their right to do so, and we highlight the necessity of your esteemed commission’s implementation of the provisions of the law that prohibit the participation of members of the security services in the membership of electoral lists or in the representation of those lists, according to the law and the requirements of the impartiality of the executive authority in the elections as a basic requirement to ensure the integrity and transparency of the elections, which is at the core of your competencies and powers, noting the necessity of the reserved seats of women in the elected councils not to be tampered by putting pressure on them to get them to withdraw and replace them with male candidates, hoping that your esteemed commission would consider our memorandum carefully, take the appropriate requirement in this regard, and provide us with your duly taken procedures.

With respect,

Issued on 14.02.2022

MUSAWA