President Issues a Decree-Law Regarding Local Authority Council Elections

SadaNews - President Mahmoud Abbas issued a decree-law regarding elections for local authority councils today, Wednesday, based on a draft decree-law presented by the Council of Ministers. The aim of this decree-law is to enhance the legal framework governing the electoral process in local authorities and to ensure its integrity. The decree-law establishes an individual electoral system to be applied in rural councils, and an open proportional list system for municipal councils. It also lowers the legal age for candidacy for membership in local authority councils to 23 years in order to broaden youth participation in candidacy. Additionally, the decree-law stipulates the establishment of mechanisms to increase the representation of women in local authority councils, along with implementing technical procedures to regulate the electoral process and ensure its transparency and integrity, achieving the foundations of justice and democracy.