Ref: 62/2012
Date: 03 June 2012
Time: 10:00 GMT

In light of the declaration by the Central Elections Commission (CEC) of its intention to update the electoral register on 03 July 2012 and to open registration for local observation bodies, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) submitted, on Saturday, 02 June 2012, an application to be accredited by the CEC as a local observation body.

The CEC has resumed its activity in the Gaza Strip in the past few days in preparation for the Palestinian presidential and legislative elections. This step was taken as part of its efforts to achieve Palestinian reconciliation.

In the coming period, and based on the election timelines, PCHR will coordinate with a number of local organizations in order to build a qualified observation team to cover the whole electoral process, as PCHR has previous experience in this area.

It should be noted that PCHR has participated as an observation body in all elections organized under the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) since its establishment. PCHR monitored the presidential and legislative elections of 1996, the presidential elections of 2005 and the legislative elections of 2006 in its capacity as an observation body accredited by the CEC. PCHR has also monitored the elections of local councils, which were organized at various stages, and published a number of evaluation reports on the results of these elections.

PCHR supports all efforts exerted to achieve Palestinian reconciliation, and hopes that these efforts will be culminated with presidential and legislative elections under fair conditions that reflect the will of the Palestinian electorate.