January 1, 2005

The Independent Commission for Citizens Rights which is assuming the role of monitoring the elections warned of the continuation of violations to the elections law and instructions regarding the presidential elections, explaining that the PNA apparatuses and employees continue to support some candidates, in addition to the use of resources of private institutions in the activities of the election campaigning.

The Commission demanded from the executive authority to send a circular to all public employees whether working in civil institutions or security services or municipalities who should abide by the law and show complete neutrality in the election campaigning. The Commission demanded from the Central Elections Commission to call on candidates to abide and respect the provisions of the law and demanded from the Interior Ministry to execute provisions of Article 6 of the Law of NGOs and private institutions through making sure that funds of those private and charity organizations are not used for purposes other than the allocated purposes. The Commission said it considers the continuation of interference of the PNA apparatuses and its employees to support a certain candidate is a serious violation.

The Commission said the series of violations detected is a blatant violation by the PNA apparatuses for the sake of one candidate which is a violation of Article 54 of the elections law. The Commission said that despite the letter sent to PM Qurei' on December 27, 2004, on the need for neutrality of the executive authority, the observers of the Commission noticed in the last few days violations by some candidates. One of the violations talk about the mass rally organized in Jericho Stadium on December 28, 2004, where hundreds of members of the national security forces were seen participating in the rally of one of the candidates and they were wearing their military uniforms and that in the same rally, one minister delivered a short speech saying he abides by the provisions of the law regarding election campaigning, but his mere presence on stage next to one of the candidates is a bias intervention by this official for the sake of the candidate.

A second violation deals with suspending classes at Palestine Technical College which belongs to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and al-Quds Open University in the city of Tulkarem to allow the students to participate in a mass rally for the sake of one of the candidates. The Commission noticed also in that rally the large presence of military personnel and police which is more than security needs. The Commission also noticed the presence of several government vehicles of security services. one of the security personnel told the Commission that members of the security services were given the day off to encourage them to participate in the rally. In the same rally, many vehicles and equipment of Tulkarem Municipality were used in placing posters of a candidate in the rally and the host of the rally was an employee in the Ministry of Culture.

The Commission said that on December 28 and 29, 2004, the Commission noticed several large posters of one of the candidates inside the walls and wards in Shifa Government Hospital in Gaza City without any opposition from the hospital administration which did not work on removing the posters. On December 30, 2004, the walls of courts complex at Wihdah Street in Gaza were filled with posters and slogans for the same candidate in a manner that caused the resentment of the judges and attorneys working in the complex, and that on December 30, 2004, the security apparatuses remained silent and did not take any action when armed men opened fire in the air in support to one of the candidates at a mass rally held in Jenin. Since the start of the election campaigning, the Commission noticed that members of the police and other security services were participating in more than one location in their military uniforms in placing posters of one of the candidates. A number of government employees said they were requested to sign a document of support to one of the candidates and the rumor goes that not signing the document can cause ramifications that wont serve the interests of those who refuse to sign.

The Commission found out that many government employees work as part of the election teams of some candidates without resigning from their government posts and that one of them occupied an important post in one of the official media institutions. The Commission noted also that some candidates use resources of private institutions which are under their administration to support their election campaigning, for example, the Commission found out that on December 28, 2004, an ambulance belonging to one of the private medical organizations distribute posters in the village of Sinjel in Ramallah.