The High Preparatory Committee for National Council Elections Approves the Electoral Law in the First Reading

SadaNews - The High Preparatory Committee for the Palestinian National Council Elections held its thirteenth session today, Thursday, chaired by the Council's president, Rouhi Fattouh, with the presence of committee members.

The session, which took place at the Legislative Council headquarters in Ramallah, opened with a recitation for the souls of Palestine's martyrs, followed by the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting.

During the session, the head of the legal committee, Saqr Bseiso, provided a detailed explanation of the articles of the draft National Council Election Law, where the project was discussed by committee members, and the articles were voted on individually in the first reading, including several substantial amendments.

The committee approved a set of procedural amendments, most notably maintaining the electoral lists' minimum threshold at 1%, and adopting a women's quota of no less than 30%, ensuring that each electoral list includes at least three women among every ten candidates.

Additionally, there was a vote to approve the reduction of the minimum age for candidacy to 23 years, and the addition of a provision to allocate seats for Christians and Samaritans, by a decision issued by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

At the conclusion of the session, a vote was held to approve all proposed amendments to the draft law in the first reading, with the draft to be forwarded to the legal committee for modifications and its return for second reading approval.

The president and members of the High Preparatory Committee confirmed that the role of the committee represents a crucial and pivotal phase in strengthening the Palestinian democratic process, ensuring the broadest possible participation of Palestinians in the homeland and diaspora.