FiMED – Follow-up

The "Palestinian Popular Conference - 14 Million" rejected replacing direct popular elections for the Palestinian National Council with what it described as "electoral colleges", warning that they could become a tool for appointing or pre-selecting the representatives of Palestinians in the diaspora.

The conference stressed that the legitimacy of national representation rests on the free will of Palestinians, affirming the right of Palestinians in the diaspora to elect their representatives and stand for national bodies on the basis of fair and uniform legal rules.

It called for general, free and fair elections to the National Council, with direct voting as the rule at home and in the diaspora, and for clear democratic mechanisms in countries whose legal or political circumstances prevent direct elections, without those circumstances becoming a gateway to appointment or quota-sharing.

The conference demanded a unified national and legal framework governing National Council elections, setting the conditions for candidacy and voting and the mechanisms for registration, balloting, counting and appeals, so as to guarantee equal opportunity and respect for the will of voters.

It said the Palestine Liberation Organization will not regain its legitimacy by widening the circle of appointment, but by "returning the decision to its owners: the Palestinian people at home and in the diaspora", stressing that "there is no legitimacy for representation that does not rest on the free will of Palestinians".

The conference's position comes amid mounting Palestinian objections to the mechanisms for choosing the representatives of communities abroad, particularly after representatives of the Palestinian community in Kuwait were chosen through an electoral college rather than by direct vote of community members.