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2008 Assessment

West Bank: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

West Bank : Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	Is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	100
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	85
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	88

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Central Elections Commission-Palestine Law No. 9 of 2005, section 3, chapter 1, article 18, [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: By election law, CSOs can also monitor the election after having approval from the Central Election Committee.

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: Although the Central Election Committee (CEC) members are appointed by the president, there have not been any cases where the integrity of the commission has been questioned.

References: Law No. 9 of 2005, section 3, chapter 1, article 22, [ LINK ]

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Professional study, Jihad Harb, 2007, Central Election Commission Case Study, [ LINK ]

International organization study, National Democratic Institute, 2006, Final Report on the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections Jan. 25, 2006.

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Special reports (42),Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), October 2005, Report on the Palestinian Elections 2005, page 20.

Professional study, AMAN, January 2005, Report on Presidential Elections held on Jan. 9, 2005.

International organization study, National Democratic Institute, 2006, Final Report on the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections Jan. 25, 2006.

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Government study, Central Elections Commission-Palestine, January 2006, Report on Second Legislative Elections, [ LINK ]

Professional study, Hadeel Qazzaz, 2007, Reconstruction National Integrity System Survey, [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: There has been some delay in declaring the legislation elections result of January 2006.

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: The Central Election Committee (CEC) can refer violation cases to the Attorney General's office but it cannot enforce rules.

References: Professional study, Jihad Harb, 2007, Central Election Commission Case Study [ LINK ]

Government study, Central Elections Commission-Palestine, January 2006, Report on Second Legislative Elections, [ LINK ]

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Special reports (44), Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) February 2006, Report on the Second PLC Elections Held on Jan. 25, 2006

International organization study, National Democratic Institute, 2006, Final Report on the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections, Jan. 25, 2006.

Peer Review Comments: In the January 2005 presidential election, non-registers were allowed to vote in the afternoon of the election day, and the ballots were closed two hours after 7p.m., as declared in the prior election.

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law No. 9 of 2005, article 93, [ LINK ]

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: The municipal election all (including the third phase) took place outside the report period.

References: Special reports (44),Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), February 2006, Report on the Second PLC Elections Held on Jan. 25, 2006.

Government study, Central Elections Commission-Palestine, January 2006, Report on Second Legislative Elections, pp 37-43.

International organization study, National Democratic Institute, 2006, Final Report on the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections Jan. 25, 2006.

Peer Review Comments: There is no public trust in the judicial system. After it became clear that Hamas was wining in many municipalities, the president froze the third phase of municipalities' elections, and there was no legal way to do them. After Hamas seized Gaza, many of its elected members in municipalities were dismissed by the government and they couldn't appeal to court.

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments: According to Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), security officials were trying to convince people to vote for certain candidates and have used their own vehicles to transport voters to and from voting stations.

References: Special reports (42), Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), October 2005, Report on the Palestinian Elections 2005, page 26.

International organization study, National Democratic Institute, 2006, Final Report on the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections Jan. 25, 2006.

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Law No. 9 of 2005, article 113, [ LINK ]

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments:

References: Special reports (42), Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), October 2005, Report on the Palestinian Elections 2005, page 26.

International organization study, National Democratic Institute, 2006, Final Report on the Palestinian Legislative Council Elections Jan. 25, 2006.