COMMUNIQUE

Released 22 June 1997 @ 4pm local time

Palestinian Non-Governmental Organization–Gaza (PNGO)

holds elections for coordinating committee

 

Yesterday, 21 June 1997, twenty-nine organizations who are members of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organization-Gaza, a coordinating body of local Palestinian NGOs, convened to hold elections at a meeting held at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

Although the elections were scheduled for December 1996, they were canceled by the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) on the grounds that certain technical procedures had not been followed. Consequently, PNGO voted to extend the existing coordinating committee’s term for six months.

At the meeting a brief statement, narrative report and financial report were submitted for review. These reports detail all of the activities PNGO engaged in with the PNA during the last six months, including the results of a meeting held with the Interior Ministry of the PNA.

The Interior Ministry stated during this meeting that: 1) organizations must have permission to hold internal elections and 2) organizations must be licensed with the PNA. In light of these requirements, PNGO submitted to the Interior Ministry a report regarding the requirements.

The paper discussed:

1) the issues surrounding the requirement to obtain permission to conduct elections

2) Palestinian laws which forbid bodies such as PNGO from existing; this is particularly important considering all members of PNGO are legally registered organizations recognized by the PNA. The report emphasized that PNGO is a coordinating body and thus does not need approval by the PNA.

The Interior Ministry responded negatively, reiterating that PNGO must be licensed, without any reference to the legal issues discussed in the PNGO paper.

Despite the negative response from the Interior Ministry, members of PNGO conducted the scheduled elections in a positive and cooperative environment. The following persons were elected to the coordinating committee:

1. Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi; Red Crescent
2. Naela Aish; Woman’s Affairs Centre
3. Raji Sourani, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
4. Abdel Karim Ahsur; Union of Agriculture Relief Committees (PARC)
5. Dr. Mufid Mokhalalati; Dar es-Salaam Hospital
6. Abdel Aziz Abu AlQaraie’; Adameer
7. Nasser Kasim Ali; Union of Agriculture Work Committees

These newly elected committee members will hold their positions for the next two years.