With the participation of the General Union of Palestinian Women, women’s institutions and frameworks have formed a “National Campaign to Promote Women’s Participation in Local Council Elections.” This campaign aims to support and empower women nominated by political parties or independent groups within electoral lists. The initiative was announced at a meeting held on Sunday, July 24, 2016, convened by The Center for Women’s Legal Researches, Counselling and Protection (CWLRCP) and the Women’s Affairs Center.

The meeting was attended by several leading figures and directors of women’s institutions to discuss the role of these institutions in supporting women and ensuring the success of the electoral process. The participants considered this a significant preliminary step towards holding legislative elections, ending the division, and achieving national unity. The attendees called for the necessity of a unified national list that includes nominated candidates from all political parties under the framework of a “Unified National Bloc.” They emphasized the need for broad representation of women on this list, based on standards of gender competence.

Furthermore, they emphasized the importance of community mobilization towards the importance of elections as a national necessity, encouraging participation through registration and monitoring. They also stressed the need to allocate the activities of women’s institutions to promote participation in the elections and train the institutions’ staff and candidates on the entire electoral process.

Agreement was reached on conducting a number of field visits to political parties to emphasize the necessity of women’s participation within the lists and to participate in operations rooms to monitor the electoral process, stressing the importance of holding elections and providing a sound democratic and security environment.