Ramallah – 28-9-2021 – Upon invitation by civil society organizations (CSOs), MIFTAH recently held an emergency session for several institutions and representatives of national parties and factions to discuss local elections following the September 6 Cabinet decision in this regard. The decision calls for holding local council elections in two stages: the first will begin on 11/12/2021 in 387 town and village councils, including 377 in the West Bank and the second phase, including (A) and (B) categorized local councils, to be held on March 26, 2022.
Civil society institutions voiced their rejection of dividing elections into two stages, maintaining there is no real technical reason for this. Rather, they said, the decision was based on unclear and unspecified phrases such as the ‘national interest” and the coronavirus pandemic. The representatives said they considered this decision to be for purely political motives.
In this context, the representatives said the first stage of local council elections in 387 town and village councils classified as [C] are mostly conducted by acclamation or appointment of committees by the Ministry of Local Government, which curtails the democratic right of voters to choose their representatives. They also said civil society demands were not taken into consideration, demands which were extensively discussed in past years over certain amendments such as: the lowering of the candidacy age, raising the women’s quota and cancelling the threshold, which would pave the way for increased participation of women and youth in the electoral process.
The participants confirmed that holding split elections was a form of political corruption, which CSOs reject. They also said this pointed to the executive authority’s misuse of the Local Elections Law and its amendments: according to Article 2 of the 2012 law by decree regarding amendments to the Local Council Elections Law, No. 19 of 2005, which is the amended law, No. 12 of 2005, stipulates the following: Article 4 of the original law shall be cancelled and replaced with the following text: 1. Elections shall be held in all local councils on one day every four years upon a decision by the Cabinet; 2. In the case local council elections are not held in accordance with Paragraph 1, the Cabinet may issue a decision to hold elections in stages as necessitated by the public interest. Hence, the decision on how elections will be held has been appropriated from the Central Elections Commission (CEC) as the independent party authorized by the Cabinet and places the application of the law and its interpretations in the hands of a non-independent political party.
Party representatives also briefed CSOs on their position regarding the elections, saying they considered them an important entryway to a comprehensive reform of the Palestinian political system on the one hand, a break in the current state of singular decision-making and an expansion of the frameworks for partnership of political and social forces in administrating public affairs, on the other. They maintained that factions cannot allow space for more singularity and possession of power by holding local elections, even if in stages.
The party representatives indicated they were open to options for holding elections in stages but reiterated their support for the position of CSOs in demanding a postponement of elections until they can be held in one day.
The meeting concluded with an agreement to continue coordination with the political parties and to continue pressuring the government to issue a decision to hold one-time local council elections in accordance with the law. They also called for avoiding the political challenges that hinder elections in the Gaza Strip or prevent CSOs from assuming their oversight role on these elections.
جلسة طارئة لممثلي المؤسسات والأحزاب والفصائل تناقش قرار مجلس الوزراء بشأن الانتخابات المحلية
تاريخ النشر: 29/09/2021
بقلم: مفتاح
رام الله – 28 – 9- 2021 - بدعوة من مؤسسات المجتمع المدني، عقدت العديد من المؤسسات وممثلي الأحزاب والفصائل الوطنية عقدت "مفتاح" جلسة طارئة خصصت لمناقشة الانتخابات المحلية، وفقاً لقرار مجلس الوزراء الصادر في 6 أيلول 2021 بشأن إجراء انتخابات مجالس الهيئات المحلية على مرحلتين، المرحلة الأولى ستنطلق يوم 11/12/2021، في 387 تجمعا بلديا وقرويا، منها 377 في الضفة الغربية. أما المرحلة الثانية للهيئات المحلية تصنيف (أ) و(ب) فستجري في تاريخ 26 آذار من العام المقبل.
وكان جرى خلال الاجتماع توضيح موقف مؤسسات المجتمع المدني الرافض لتجزئة الانتخابات وإجرائها على مرحلتين حيث لا توجد أسباب فنية حقيقية تعيث إجراء الانتخابات بشكل متزامن ودفعة واحدة، حيث أن الجهة المخولة للتبليغ عن وجود المعيقات لإجراء الانتخابات هي هيئة الانتخابات المركزية، إلا أن قرار مجلس الوزراء اعتمد على مصطلحات غير واضحة ومحددة مثل المصلحة الوطنية، وانتشار جائحة كورونا، ما اعتبره ممثلو المؤسسات مبنيّ على دوافع سياسية خالصة.
وفي ذات السياق أوضح ممثلو المؤسسات إلى أن المرحلة الاولى من انتخابات مجالس الهيئات المحلية من المجالس قروية والبلديات المصنفة ج والبالغ عددها 387 هيئة، تشكل في غالبتها بطريقة التزكية أو تعيين اللجان من قبل وزارة الحكم المحلي، مما يحجم من الممارسة الديمقراطية للناخبين في اختيار ممثليهم في هذه المجالس، كما أن مطالبات المجتمع المدني لم يتم الأخذ بها، والتي جرت حولها حوارات مكثفة خلال السنوات الماضية بشأن بعض التعديلات التي تخص تخفيض سن الترشح ورفع نسبة الكوتا للنساء وإلغاء نسبة الحسم وتخفيض الحد الادنى للقائمة الأمر الذي من شأنه فتح المجال أمام زيادة مشاركة النساء والشباب في العملية الانتخابية.
كما أكدوا خلال اجتماعهم على أن إجراء الانتخابات بشكل مجزّأ يعتبر نوعاً من أنواع الفساد السياسي الذي ترفضه مؤسسات المجتمع المدني ويدلل على سوء استخدام السلطة التنفيذية في تطبيق قانون الهيئات المحلية وتعديلاته، وفقا للمادة رقم (2) من قرار بقانون لسنة 2012 بشأن تعديل قانون انتخاب مجالس الهيئات المحلية رقم (19) لسنة 2005 المعدل بالقانون رقم (12) لسنة 2005: نص على ما يلي: تلغى المادة (4) من القانون الأصلي ويستعاض عنها بالنص الآتي: 1. تجري الانتخابات في جميع مجالس الهيئات المحلية في يوم واحد كل أربع سنوات بقرار يصدر عن مجلس الوزراء 2. في حال تعذر إجراء انتخابات المجالس وفقاً للفقرة (1)، يجوز لمجلس الوزراء إصدار قرار بإجراء الانتخابات على مراحل وفق ما تفتضيه المصلحة العامة، حيث تم مصادرة قرار كيفية إجراء الانتخابات من لجنة الانتخابات المركزية كجهة مستقلة وذات صلاحية لصالح مجلس الوزراء الأمر الذي يضع تطبيقات القانون وتفسيراته لصالح جهة غير مستقلة سياسياً.
وكان ممثلو الأحزاب أطلعوا مؤسسات المجتمع المدني على موقفهم اتجاه اجراء هذه الانتخابات، حيث تعتبرها القوى الوطنية مدخلاً مهماً لعملية إصلاح شاملة للنظام السياسي الفلسطيني من جهة، وكسر حالة التفرد القائمة وتوسيع أطر المشاركة للقوى السياسية والاجتماعية في إدارة الشأن العام من جهة أخرى، معتبرين أنه لا يمكن للفصائل ترك الساحة لمزيد من التفرد واستحواذ السلطة خلال اجراء الانتخابات المحلية حتى وإن جرت ضمن مراحل.
وأشار ممثلو الأحزاب إلى أنهم منفتحون على خيارات إجرائها ضمن مراحل مؤكدين على دعمهم لموقف مؤسسات المجتمع المدني المطالب بتأجيل الانتخابات وعقدها جميعاً في يوم واحد.
وخلص الاجتماع إلى استمرار التنسيق مع الأحزاب السياسية ودعمها لاستمرار الضغط على الحكومة بغية التوصل استصدار قرار بشأن إجراء انتخابات الهيئات المحلية في وقت واحد وفقاً لما نص عليه القانون، وتجنب التحديات السياسية التي من شأنها أن تعطل الانتخابات في قطاع غزة أو استنكاف مؤسسات المجتمع المدني عن دورها الرقابي خلال إجراء الانتخابات المحلية.
MIFTAH releases 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social and security sectors, including social justice and gender indicators
Date posted: April 04, 2023
By MIFTAH
MIFTAH recently released 2021-2022 comparative actual spending reports for the social sector (health, education, higher education and scientific research, social development and labor), and for the first time, the security sector (Ministry of Interior and National Security). The reports were based on annual financial data released by the Ministry of Finance in Palestine for 2021-2022 and on an accrual basis.
The data showed that the Ministry of Interior and National Security had the highest percentage of actual spending in 2022, accounting for 22.8% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.68 billion. This was a slight increase from the Ministry’s share in 2021. Meanwhile, actual spending on the education sector (Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research) stood at 21.5% of overall public expenditures, or ILS3.48 billion. This was also an increase from the education sector’s share in 2021, which was 20.6% of public expenditures.
Moreover, actual spending on the Ministry of Health also increased in 2022, comprising 15% of overall public expenditures, at a sum of ILS2.4 billion. This was higher than in 2021, where its share was 14.4%. As for the Ministry of Social Development, actual spending was still low, amounting for 6.2% of overall public expenditures in 2022, compared to 5.8% in 2021. The Ministry of Social Development’s actual spending in 2022 was approximately ILS1 billion. As for the labor sector, actual spending on this sector in 2022 was 0.31% of overall public expenditures, while in 2021 it was 0.28%. Actual spending on the labor sector in 2022 was ILS50.1 million.
Upon review of actual spending reports of the targeted ministries from a gender and social justice perspective, it is clear that actual spending on the Ministry of Social Development does not coincide with the scope of its responsibilities as the forerunner of the social sector in Palestine, including its programs for combatting poverty and the protection of poor and marginalized social sectors. Moreover, non-compliance to the disbursement of payments for poor families within the CTP continued according to estimates, whereby only two of four installments for 2022 were disbursed, one at minimum value. This adversely affected the financial security of the most underprivileged and marginalized sectors of society, in addition to the insufficient estimated budget and actual spending on the social protection program, in spite of its importance in providing protection and social services to battered women, children, special-needs persons and the elderly.
The data also pointed to the low percentage of women working in the security sector, which stood at 6% of the total number of workers in this sector, while they comprised 46% of the civil sector. This shows a gap in actual spending on the security sector from a gender perspective, given that the lion’s share of actual spending in 2022 was on salaries and wages. Hence, women only benefited very little from these allocations, which were nearly ILS2.9 billion in 2022.
The data also indicated that the development expenditures for the Ministry of Labor were only ILS4.5 million in 2022, even though planned development expenditures were ILS32 million, which is much higher. This casts a shadow on gender-related programs and projects, which were allotted sizeable budgets within development expenditures, such as creating sustainable opportunities as alternatives for Palestinian men and women working in settlements, for which ILS10 million were earmarked.
Even though there was an increase in actual spending in 2022 at the targeted ministries in general, this increase was mainly concentrated on salaries and wages. In spite of the importance of providing a decent life for employees, there is still a need to increase spending on development expenditures, since they are at the forefront of developing government services, including the nationalization and institutionalization of various social services.
MIFTAH concludes town hall meetings on political participation and citizens’ rights for women and youth
Date posted: January 09, 2023
By MIFTAH
Ramallah – 29/12/2022 – Within its efforts to promote democratic values and the peaceful transfer of power within the Palestinian government system, MIFTAH’s field advisory team completed over 100 town hall meetings in the second half of 2022. The meetings were held in coordination and cooperation with CSOs, LGUs and grassroots organizations and targeted women and youth in several West Bank and Gaza Strip districts. The objective of these meetings was to raise awareness among the electorate on the electoral system in Palestine and on civil society demands to increase women and youth participation in local and general elections as candidates and voters, on the premise that this boosts their presence in decision-making levels and involves them in public affairs.
The town hall meetings included several exchange visits between LGU members in the various districts. The women shared the experiences and challenges they faced after becoming council members. The meetings focused on the concept of citizenship within a broader definition of the various forms of political participation and the importance of involvement from youth and women in public life. They also pointed to the different forms of democracy and the main pillars of the democratic society Palestinians seek to create. The participants furthermore discussed the various forms of electoral systems and shed light on the gaps in electoral laws regarding the presence of women and youth.
The participants pointed to the importance of periodic legislative and presidential elections and the danger of the ongoing absence of the PLC on matters pertaining to civic peace. They also warned against the absence of oversight and accountability, maintaining that the defunct PLC has contributed to shrinking civic space and public freedoms and therefore, the ability or desire to become involved in political life, especially for women and youth. In most of the meetings, the participants also indicated that the absence of a regular democratic process in Palestine contributed to the overall exclusion of youth from participation and to the marginalization of the role of women in Palestinian political decision-making.
The town hall meetings stressed on the importance of pressing for legislative, presidential and local elections in all West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip districts. They also endorsed the demand for equality in electoral laws, starting with raising the women’s quota to a minimum of 30%, raising the candidacy age and lowering the threshold. They urged Palestinian factions to assume a key role in the process of inclusion for women and youth in the public sphere and to prevent the progression of tribalism in the democratic process. The attendees emphasized the importance of monitoring the performance of LGUs in their interaction with local communities and the consistency of their meetings. Finally, they said female council members must be given the opportunity to exercise their role in their respective councils as equals to their male counterparts.
MIFTAH holds town hall meetings on an annual basis as part of its awareness campaign on citizens’ rights and the promotion of the democratic approach for a peaceful transfer of power, in addition to the involvement of women and youth in elections as both candidates and voters. Each year, through these town hall meetings, MIFTAH aims to reach the widest possible segment of the electorate and the different social sectors in all parts of Palestine.
MIFTAH completes training workshop in the Gaza Strip on family protection and advocacy
Date posted: January 05, 2023
By MIFTAH
Gaza – 2/1/2023 – MIFTAH recently completed a training workshop on measures and regulations on family protection in the Gaza Strip. The workshop was part of MIFTAH’s strategic objectives to prioritize family issues in communities and to support local institutions in increasing awareness on citizenship and constitutional rights for Palestinian women and on combatting all forms of GBV and discrimination in Palestinian society.
The workshop’s objectives included providing institutions with important information on the legislations, laws and measures for family protection in effect in the Gaza Strip, in a bid to enhance the oversight role of CSOs in holding accountable official parties responsible for enforcing these measures and legislations. The training also included offering institutions the necessary mechanisms for managing digital and media campaigns to press for the ratification of laws and legislation that protect women’s rights.
The discussions focused on a number of points, including legal (including sharia law) rebuttals to claims from parties opposing legislation, including the Family Protection Law. They also discussed how applicable this law would be in the Gaza Strip once ratified by the President.
The participants unanimously agreed that they supported adoption of the law, giving no credence to the claims of more extreme elements in Gaza on the Family Protection Law. They called on MIFTAH to hold general, open meetings with the public to introduce them to the law and its importance, so that they could defend themselves from the extremist discourse surrounding it.
Opinions and impressions
One of the participants, Latifa Shatat, said such training workshops were crucial for every Palestinian, male and female. “It is great we are pressing for protection laws such as the Family Protection Bill. This law will have tremendous impact on society as a whole. I can say from experience as a social and mental health worker that protection is the most important element in our work, especially in cases involving women and children, who are the most vulnerable social sectors. I commend MIFTAH and anyone who participates in spreading a culture of nonviolence, protection, justice and equality.”
Meanwhile, Haifa Al Araj said the training offered important details about the Family Protection Law and also ways of conducting initiatives and activities that could produce positive results in mobilizing support it.
Another participant, Hatem Abu Ta’a, said the training was a new starting point for him as an institution director in terms of integrating the demand to implement the Family Protection Law in all advocacy and lobbying activities and programs. He said he became more aware of the impediments to the law’s implementation at the official and social level, saying, “This training reminds us to renew our calls to demand implementation and ratification of the law at the official level.”
Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abu Rabee said ratification of the Family Protection Law would be a huge step, for women and children especially. “This law will amplify women’s voices and their ability to access help with stronger and more supportive centers throughout the homeland. As a strong supporter of this bill, I want to stress on the importance of civil society institutions explaining the clauses in the bill pertaining to CEDAW and to also focus on working with parties that oppose the law in particular.”
The training workshop is part of MIFTAH’s “Policy dialogue and Good Governance” Program, which aims at influencing public policies and legislation in favor of protection for citizens’ rights in Palestinian society, based on the principles of social justice and respect for human rights.
