Ref: 08/2021

Date: 31 January 2021

On Sunday, 31 January 2021, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) held a second consultative meeting at its main office in Gaza City, with organizations involved in monitoring the general elections. The meeting was attended by representative of 9 community-based organizations in Gaza, namely Dr. Haider Abdel Shafi Center for Culture and Development; Humanitarian Care Association; Palestinian Medical Relief Society; National Society for Rehabilitation; Abnona Association for Social Development; al-Afaq Association; Zakher Association for the Developing of Palestinian Women; East Gaza Association for Women and Children; and Youth Vision Society.

This meeting comes as part of a series of meeting PCHR holds with representatives of partner organizations involved in monitoring the general elections in Gaza’s governorates. The meeting aims at informing these organizations about PCHR’s work and in preparation to have observers from these organizations join PCHR’s elections monitoring team through all the electoral process.

Mohammed ‘Atallah, PCHR’s Training Unit Coordinator, opened the meeting by welcoming the attendees, stressed the importance of partnership with CBOs. He added that it is one of PCHR’s priorities to enhance its partnerships with civil society organizations.

Abdel Halim Abu Samra, Head of PCHR’s Training Unit, praised the role partner organizations played in supporting PCHR’s elections monitoring efforts, and pointed out that some joined PCHR’s team in monitoring the previous elections. At the time, CBO representatives received intensive training courses by PCHR’s staff in the field of elections monitoring. Abu Samra presented PCHR’s preparations for monitoring the upcoming presidential and legislative elections.

Nafez al-Khaldi, a researcher at PCHR’s Democratic Development Unit (DDU), highlighted PCHR’s major role in monitoring the elections in Palestine since 1996, as PCHR prepared for monitoring the local counsels’ elections, which were expected in early 2016. Al-Khaldi confirmed that PCHR is ready to form and train a team of 500 observers, in collaboration with dozens of CBOs, after receiving intensive training courses in monitoring elections.

In conclusion, CBOs representatives were involved in the discussion and expressed their intent to work with PCHR and monitor the electoral process as per the criteria set by PCHR for choosing observers.