Ramallah 5/12/2022 – MIFTAH recently held an open session entitled, “Proposed amendments to the Local and General Elections Laws to promote the principles of equality and pluralism.” The conference was opened by MIFTAH Executive Director, Dr. Tahreer Araj, who said the conference was part of MIFTAH’s efforts to promote active political participation among all social sectors, particularly youth and women. She said the objective of this was to follow up on the efforts of civil society institutions in pressuring decision-makers to make the necessary legal amendments that would bolster citizens’ political participation and the principles of democracy. Araj stated that since 2003, MIFTAH has been involved in national efforts to develop the Elections Law through several interventions aimed at achieving political reforms and adopting the proposed amendments to the law. Several local council members then shared their success stories and experiences in running in the elections and then winning a seat in their local councils. The women also spoke about the social challenges they overcame and how they were determined to serve their communities. This was followed by several discussions and commentary among the audience and council members before CSO representatives and the Central Elections Commission [CEC] presented the proposed amendments to the law. During the second session, the speakers showcased the proposed legal amendments to the law and their direct impact on the political participation of women and youth. They maintained that the purpose of these amendments was to arrive at a just elections law that represents the various social sectors and promotes the values of participatory democracy, based on women and youth reaching decision-making positions. Closing statement “In conclusion, MIFTAH’s meeting on the proposed amendments to the Local and General Elections Laws posed several core points, which impact the participation of women and youth as members of local councils. It also focused on the challenges these two sectors face, whether in terms of their candidacy, elections campaign or in conducting their tasks as elected members of their local councils. Most of these challenges are linked to social pressures and stereotypes of the role of women in society and family, in addition to the absence of laws and regulations that protect and support the participation and representation of women and youth in local councils. The most significant challenges women face are as follows:
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