2022-04-13

Gaza

Gaza / Announcement / Core Program / position paper

Esteemed Mr. Yahya Sinwar, leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip

Subject: Local Council Elections in the Gaza Strip “the Southern Governorates”

The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession-Musawa, expresses its greetings, highlighting that it is an independent civil watchdog concerned with monitoring the performance of government institutions, foremost of which is the justice system in a manner that safeguards the constitutional rights of citizens and embodies the values, principles and constitutional texts contained in the Basic Law and the Declaration of Independence, being the social contract regulating all other relations and powers, as well as being the constitutional and legal reference upon which the legal system in Palestine is based.

As the Center is aware of its role and legal mission that is based on the foundations of independence and professionalism, which it performs away from partisan and factional interactions and for the purposes of protecting rights and freedoms in accordance with what is entailed in the Declaration of Independence and the introduction to the Basic Law and the first and second chapters thereof.

Undoubtedly, you are aware that local council elections in the Southern Governorates have not taken place since 2005, and that some local councils have never witnessed any elections in their history, which fundamentally contradicts the Declaration of Independence and the Basic Law, especially Articles 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 19 and paragraph 3 of Article 26, which clearly states that Palestinians - without discrimination or exception - shall have the right to participate in political life, both individually and in groups, and in particular they shall have the right 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 and Article 32. Furthermore, it contradicts the constitutional and legal provisions regulating periodic elections and protecting the right of the citizen to choose her/his leaders through free and fair periodic elections, the results of which should be respected.  

We would like to mention that the Center has organized several societal meetings and dialogues that dealt with the basic rights of citizens, including the right to elections and candidacy in various bodies, institutions and authorities, including the expanded legal meeting organized by the Center on 28.10.2021 in Gaza entitled “Local Councils Between Elections and Appointment and the Role of Youth in Leadership” in addition to its issuance and treatment of violations of replacing elections with appointment, including the appointment of a municipal council in Gaza, which reflected the will of citizens in the Southern Governorates and their adherence to their constitutional right to choose their representatives in local councils through elections.

Undoubtedly, you are aware of the clear participation of Hamas in the local elections that took place recently in the local councils in the Northern Governorates, which resulted in the victory of lists affiliated with Hamas in the local councils of major cities such as Tulkarm, Hebron, Al-Bireh and Qalqilya in accordance with the legislations governing the elections.

The participation of Hamas in all the local elections that took place in the Northern Governorates and its prohibition, in its capacity as the ruling party in the Southern Governorates, of holding elections for local councils in the Southern Governorates, despite the fact that seventeen years passed since the elections were held and not being held in some local councils until now, constitutes a contradiction that falls under the umbrella of arbitrary exercise of power and confiscation of a basic right of citizens that, in turn, falls under the umbrella of a violation of constitutional rights; the thing that requires accountability in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 10 and Article 32 of the Basic Law, in addition to this contradiction constituting a  practice of an applied policy that fundamentally contradicts the requirements of protecting the right to participate in political and public life according to what Article 26 of the Basic Law requires.

Accordingly, within the framework of our legal and monitoring role, we demand that you to send a letter to the Central Elections Commission confirming your readiness to conduct local council elections in the Southern Governorates at any time the committee deems appropriate and as soon as possible, and also confirming your commitment to providing all requirements for conducting free, fair and transparent elections that guarantee the free expression of the will of the electors and forms part of the constitutional rights of citizens to choose their representatives in all other authorities and institutions, particularly in the legislative and presidential elections.

With respect

Issued on 13.04.2022

MUSAWA