Previous 9 / 12 Next

decision based on the candidate’s registration in the voters’ list of Ramallah in 2005, and it is not sensible that he will record a plea against him that may deprive him from participate in the elections. On the other hand, which is more critical and dangerous is 2) the CEC based on the nomination of this candidate took the decision to cancel the nomination of a list that represent significant and primary sectors of a locality. Consequently, to sum up, based on what is mentioned above, and since it is allowed legally to nominate a 7-candidate list, this objection on the decision which is a gross violation of the basic principles of justice and fairness and definitely does not reconcile with the living social necessity which require the participation of everyone in the electoral process. Therefore, I petition the court to accept this objection in substance. The attorney Khalil said litigating: I petition to include in my plea the litigation and I would like to add that my colleague throughout the proceedings of this objection did not dispute or question the validity of nonregistration of the appealer Hassan Issa Hassan Muheisen in Ramallah locality and that he was not of the voters registered in Beitunia locality; he mainly focused in his allegations and evidences that the appealer resides in Beitunia although that was not subject of dispute or questioning for the CEC since the CEC applies the law and article 18 states relating to the provisions for the candidate’s nomination is to be enlisted in the final voters’ list of the locality he is running in, the CEC on 4/3/2017 exhibited the voters list of Beitunia locality and the public were able to look at it and check their names or object on the names enlisted in the registry. The name of the candidate was enlisted within the voters’ list of Ramallah locality, he accepted that and did not file any objection on his name not enlisted in Beitunia locality voter’s list and enlisted in Ramallah’s. this indicates that he was not willing to nominate then, and this willingness evolved later, while law states in article 14 that the candidates list is closed, and article 20 says that the CEC can reject acceptance of list registration application if it is evident that the provided information or documents in the applicant is not accurate or correct or if the application did not meet the legal requirements by law, and what kind of correct information included in the application if one of the candidates claim that he is registered in Beitunia locality and sign a written declaration of that effect, i.e. that he provided correct information while he knows in advance that his declaration is not correct and his name is enlisted in Ramallah’s voters list; registration is

Select target paragraph3

● ● ●

City for All List, et. al v. Palestinian Central Election Commission, et. al

Judgment

Question Presented: Whether the error in registration on the voter list of one candidate from an independent candidate list should result in rejecting the application of all the candidates on the list, and thus the entire list, from running for election.

Alleged Acts: The plaintiffs allege that the Palestinian Central Elections Committee (CEC) improperly rejected the nomination of the City for All List (“the List”) for the Beituna elections because one of the List’s members, Hasan Issa Hassan Muheisen, was not properly registered on the Beituna’s voters’ list, but rather on the voters’ list in Ramallah. As a result of the rejection, the plaintiffs allege that all the candidates on the City for All List were deprived of their right to run for election.

Procedural history: The CEC rejected the candidates on the City for All List from running in the Beitunia, Ramallah, and Al-Bireh municipal elections due to the ineligibility of one candidate on the list. The City for All List, in conjunction with 11 members of the List as individual candidates on the list, appealed the CEC’s decision to the Electoral Court.

Summary: The plaintiffs are the City for All List and 11 individual applicant-candidates of the List who allege that the CEC improperly barred the List and its members from running in municipal elections because one of the List’s candidates, Hasan Issa Hassan Muheisen, was not registered on the voter roll in Beitunia municipality. Instead, Hassan Muheisen was registered on the voter roll in Ramallah municipality. The CEC refused to register the City for All List, the candidate Muheisen, and all other the member-candidates running on the City for All List because of Muheisen’s lack of registration on the voter roll in the Beitunia municipality, where they wished to compete in the election. The plaintiffs provide a series of reasons for contesting the CEC’s rejection. First, the rejection is generally invalid because the CEC did not address all the issues raised by the plaintiffs in their appeal to the CEC on 9/7/2017. They argued that the List was submitted properly and met all requirements under election law and that, it is the responsibility of the CEC, not the party or the candidates, to “verify and confirm that the nomination applications are complete and meet all the legal requirements.” The plaintiffs also stated that the CEC assumed, without mentioning proof, that the plaintiffs submitted the List in bad faith and for the purpose of getting around the laws regulating the election process. Additionally, candidate Hassan Muheisen is a resident of Beitunia and “was committed to paying all his due fees and taxes” imposed for misregistering on the Ramallah voter roll. They argue that an entire list can only be rejected in instances where withdrawing a candidate(s) causes the total number of candidates on the list to fall below “the majority of the number of seats allocated to the electoral district” in accordance with article 14, paragraph 5 of Local Election Law No. 10 of 2005. Therefore, Hassan Muheisen being kept on or removed from the List will not affect the legal order of the other candidates or the validity of the List at large. And, rejecting the entire List instead of only removing Hassan Muheisen violates Articles 14, 16, 17, 18, and 20 of the Local Elections Law No. 10 of 2005. They added that the rejection of the List violates the rights of the List candidates to participate in political life “in accordance with the principles of equal opportunities.” Finally, the CEC’s rejection does not safeguard the elections process, does not allow for a strong and competent local council and does not restore citizens’ trust in the elections process. In its decision on appeal, the Electoral Court cited Article 14(5) of the Local Elections Law No. 10 of 2005 mandating that the number of candidates on an electoral list could not be less than the majority of seats for the contested locality. Even though candidate Hassan Muheisen had not correctly registered on the voter roll, the Court held that the number of remaining registered candidates on the List did not fall below the required threshold. Therefore, the Court held that the City for All List was still valid and its members are eligible to run in the Beitunia municipal elections. The Court concluded that the CEC’s interpretation of Local Elections Law No. 10 of 2005 was incorrect and its rejection of the List partially violated the law. Consequently, the Electoral Court reversed the CEC ruling for the party and all the party’s members, except for the candidate who did not register correctly.

Conclusion: The CEC decision is reversed for all appellants, except for Hasan Issa Hassan Muheisen, and the registration for the City for All List is accepted to compete in the municipal elections.

Legal Issue(s)

Candidate Eligibility
Candidate Registration

Applicable Law(s): Article 14, Paragraph 5 of the Local Elections Law No. 10 of 2005

Region: Middle East and North Africa

Country: Palestine

Language of Decision

Arabic

Court: Electoral Court

Election Type: General

Date of decision: Apr 23, 2017

Geolocation

Latitude: 31.467569093559153

Longitude: 34.42376471221693

: Geolocation

Primary Documents

ELECTORAL COURT Case 4-2017.pdf
English
Download View

Supporting files

pdf

ELECTORAL COURT Case 4-2017 Dissenting Opinion .pdf70.87 kB

Election Judgments - IFES

Select target paragraph3

City for All List, et. al v. Palestinian Central Election Commission, et. al

Primary Documents

Supporting files

Notifications