Today, 7 February 2005, PCHR has published a report evaluating the polling and counting of votes in the Palestinian presidential election that was held on 9 January 2005. PCHR has sent a copy of the report to Dr. Hanna Nasser, President of the Central Election Commission (CEC).

The report is the outcome of the campaign of monitoring over the polling and counting of votes led by PCHR in cooperation with 26 Palestinian civil society organizations, including Palestine Bar Association, ad-Dameer Association for Human Rights and Women's Affairs Center. In its report, PCHR has depended on information collated by around 300 local and international observers throughout the Gaza Strip.

According to the conclusions of monitoring, which amounted to a comprehensive survey of all polling centers in all electoral constituencies in the Gaza Strip, the election took place peacefully, reflecting high-levels of organization, in spite of a number of violations, especially by supporters of a number of candidates and partisan entities. Nevertheless, a few hours before the official time of close of polls, 19:00, PCHR and its observers were surprised by two measures taken by the CEC, which were circulated to all electoral constituencies: new instructions to officials of polling centers to allow citizens not registered in the electoral register to vote, using only their identity cards; and a decision to extend the period of polling in all polling centers until 21:00.

PCHR interpreted the measure relating to allowing people to vote with only their ID cards as illegal. The Centre submitted a petition to the Election Appeals Court requesting a judgment which would overturn the decision and all consequences of that decision. However, PCHR believes that these violations and the measures taken by the CEC did not damage or alter the substantial results of the election.

At the end of the report, PCHR has concluded:

1. On polling day PCHR observers documented breaches of the election campaign, which were clear in polling centers. Vehicles were seen moving from one polling center to another calling through megaphones for the election of a specific candidate, and supporters of a number of candidates urged citizens at polling centers to elect specific candidates. Also inside polling centers, there were some individuals who distributed photos of a number of candidates. These constitute violations for which candidates and supporters should be held responsible.
2. Chaos and congestion spread in a number of polling centers designed for voters who were registered on the civil registry list in the Gaza Strip, especially in the evening, following the CEC's decision to allow the electors to vote using their identity cards. A number of polling stations were closed for some time to impose order. Due to this chaos, polling station officials did not verify the ages of some electors, who were under 18 and were able to vote.
3. One of the factors which caused the chaos in polling centers designed for voters registered on the civil registry is that this register is old and does not give accurate population statistics, since it includes people who have already died or left the country. In addition, the names included in this register are translated from Hebrew to Arabic as it is derived from lists provided by Israeli occupation authorities in the early 1990s. The translation is inaccurate and the names are not arranged alphabetically. PCHR believes that it is necessary for the Palestinian Legislative Council to reconsider the adoption of the civil register in addition to the electoral register in elections, especially as tribal considerations will play a major role in the upcoming PLC elections ( although it did not play such a large role in the presidential election.) The number of people on the civil registry list who actually voted was 12% which had a negative impact on the final turnout.
4. Many polling centers and stations were not appropriate to disabled people, as they were located on upper floors, which made it difficult for them to exercise their constitutional right to participate in the elections. Consequently, PCHR calls upon the CEC to make polling centers appropriate for disabled persons to allow them to participate in the elections.
5. The exception to allow illiterate people to bring people to bring one individual with each them was abused, as in some polling centers more than one person, even supporters of candidates, accompanied illiterate people to polling stations, which raised doubts about the commitment to illiterate people's choices. Consequently, the CEC is required to create a mechanism that can ensure the participation of this segment of electors according to their choices without any dictation, and to prevent the misuse of this exception by closely observing the persons who accompany illiterate people.
6. A number of members of the police who were responsible for keeping order in polling centers intervened in the electoral process and tried to convince electors to select certain candidates. A number of members of security services were present in some polling centers to urge, and some times threat, electors to select a certain candidate, without the police having intervened to prevent them from being inside polling centers or prevent any aspect of election campaigning. In some cases, polling centers officials intervened for the benefit of a certain candidate. This behavior violates the law as polling center officials and the police must be neutral and carry out their jobs.
7. PCHR observers noted that agents of partisan entities and candidates were not present in some polling center to monitor the opening of polling. Some of these agents were also unaware of the nature of the electoral process and their role of monitoring.
8. Even though Israeli occupation forces (IOF) claimed that they would abstain from taking any measures that may obstruct the electoral process, PCHR observers documented a number of cases in which IOF launched a number of attacks on or around polling centers in Rafah and Khan Yunis, which bewildered people.