Why are elections a priority for Palestinian society?

Pal-Think for Strategic Studies carried out a radio episode on the local Zaman radio titled “Why do the elections represent a priority for Palestinian society?” — during the programme “Electoral Issues” within the project “Strengthening civil society's role in supporting the Palestinian elections”, funded by the Government of Canada. The project aims to strengthen civil society's role and activate the role of youth and their political and communal participation in order to support the Palestinian elections.

The guest of the encounter was the writer and political analyst Dr Talal Abu Rokba, who opened his talk by thanking “Pal-Think” for its efforts in spreading knowledge and political culture in Palestinian society, especially among youth.

He said Palestinian society did not mature within its natural frame because of the condition of uprooting and displacement. The political analyst added that what the Palestinians arrived at after the launch of their revolution was “consociational democracy” — a consensual means among the factions to represent the Palestinian people.

He pointed out that the end of the transitional stage in the year 2000 smothered the democratic process anew, as the condition of confusion and engagement returned with the Israeli occupation, which was a preventer and demolisher of any democratic process. This condition continued until the Palestinian necessity arose to choose a new president at the time, and the second presidential elections were held in 2005, then came the second legislative elections in 2006; then this experience was subjected to the setback by force of the international rejection of these elections' results and the imposition of sanctions, and what followed of the events of the coup and the Palestinian division — and then the electoral process was smothered completely over 14 years in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Abu Rokba affirmed the necessity of holding the elections, especially after the failure of the reconciliation dialogues between the Hamas and Fatah movements throughout the past years.

He said: “We were before a proportional-representation system — 'the lists' — of which all the experts affirm that no faction whatsoever can obtain 50+1 through it; accordingly we needed a broad coalition inside the Legislative Council to form the Palestinian Authority's government, and this would gather everyone upon forming a national unity government on the pattern of the world's states.”

Abu Rokba described the Palestinian elections as “a Palestinian instrument of struggle” that gives an indication that Palestinian society has the right to decide its destiny with its own hand and believes in democracy, and proves the Palestinian right.

The researcher made clear that among the most prominent differences after the latest escalation: a condition of communal frustration had prevailed after the cancellation of the elections, and a condition of loss of trust within society among brothers, and there was a view among Palestinians that the horizon was blocked — but what happened after the latest aggression was that it restored consideration once again to the Palestinian cause, and he called it “the battle of recovering consciousness toward Palestine and all of Palestine”.

Abu Rokba added: “For the first time the Palestinian and the Israeli are being equated in the right to equality and to living in dignity, and this is what we noticed in what issued on the tongues of the heads of the major states — and this is because of the success of the Palestinian citizen's journalism, which is merely a beginning that must be built upon.”

Abu Rokba said: “I believe the Palestinian elections will be present on the international table in the coming period, and that the Israeli rejection and obstinacy that stood before the latest assault will change by force of the transformation in international public opinion. We saw some reports in world newspapers demanding a halt to the assaults on the Palestinians, and this means we are speaking of dramatic transformations on the international scene — and this pours into the interest of Palestinian society, and we must invest this politically, and we must begin with the internal political situation. I believe the opportunity is ripe for a national accord government that paves the way for holding full proportional representation, such that it comprises all the spectra of the Palestinian colour so as to restore the weights of the political factions.”

He added: “In light of the great retreat of the Palestinian cause, the elections were an exit to re-form Palestinian society and the official institution.

He concluded by saying: “I want to affirm the role of the Palestinians of the diaspora in conveying the Palestinian condition to the world during the latest events, and this affirms the oneness of condition and destiny.”

The designations used and the presentation of materials in this programme entail no expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Government of Canada