Written by: Khalil Abu Karsh
After years of the absence of democracy, Palestinians are returning to the ballot box to exercise their electoral right to choose representations in the Palestinian Legislative Council, confirming that this box is the light at that the end of the tunnel. The date of elections was set following the presidential decree issued by Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, and the results of the Palestinian national dialogue in Cairo. This resulted in a state of consensus on conducting legislative and presidential elections along with Palestinian National Council elections, in which the proportional representation system is adopted in the legislative elections. This constitutes a golden opportunity for Palestinians to engage in this democratic process, where parties and electoral blocs compete to win the support of the Palestinian street and seats in the PLC and to implement the bloc’s proposed program.
It is necessary to closely examine the electoral programs of the competing parties and blocs, especially whether or not their programs constitute a clear-cut roadmap capable of addressing the reality and its flaws and bring about change that enables us to achieve our national goals and aspirations. Personally, I think that our national goals are inseparable from our daily goals, for there is no difference between them, as all our actions must aim to end the occupation.
Moreover, the electoral program must provide a way out of the economic crises that Palestinian citizens suffer from, whether at the level of social groups or at the level of multiple productive sectors, in order to ensure real inclusive development that responds to the needs of individuals. The more a citizen participates in drafting the electoral program for the competing lists, the greater their chances are of winning seats in the PLC and bringing about the required change. Hence, I recommend the use of modern technology and the tools it provides in order to communicate with the public and ask them for their suggestions and ideas that they deem important to be included in the electoral program. This certainly increases the public’s participation and reduces the gap between the voter and the candidate.
In my opinion, Palestinians will not support programs that have political slogans which are unable to be applied in our complex and intertwined reality. The best example is what happened in 2006 when political Islam, with its religious slogans, succeeded in gaining the support of Palestinians. However, it failed miserably in its management of the scene and was unable to maneuver and deal with regional and international powers, making it easier for our opponents to impose a suffocating siege that we still suffer from.