Elections commission on track for voter registration

The Central Elections Commission is on track to begin voter registration in the Gaza Strip in two weeks, its director said on Monday. Registration for national elections will begin as planned on July 3, continuing until July 14, Hisham Kuhail told a Ma'an reporter on the sidelines of a conference with political parties in the Gaza Strip. "There are no obstacles so far; there is full cooperation with the key institutions, both the education and interior ministries in Gaza, and all logistics" are in place, he said. Kuhail said the commission will open 256 centers in Gaza to register voters or update their documents. The body has signed an agreement with the education ministry for students and employees to work to assist the registration process, he added. Registration data will then be sent to the commission's headquarters in Ramallah. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimates around 250,000 new voters will be registered, he noted. Gaza premier Ismail Haniyeh met the CEC chief Hanna Nasser in Gaza City on May 28 and gave the commission permission to start work updating the electoral role in preparation for a vote. Hamas' agreement to let the CEC work in Gaza was a condition set by Fatah leader and President Mahmoud Abbas for starting consultations on forming a transitional government to prepare for fresh national elections. The last Palestinian elections were held in 2006, and declared free and fair by international observers. The international community imposed sanctions on the Palestinian Authority after Hamas won the vote. Hostility between Hamas and Fatah escalated in 2007 when fighting neared civil war in the Gaza Strip. Since then, Ismail Haniyeh has headed a Hamas government in Gaza while Salam Fayyad has run the Fatah-led PA in the West Bank.