The new Central Election Commission (CEC) appointed by a Presidential Decree on December 21, 1995 is responsible for the organization and supervision of the elections for the Palestinian Council and the President of the Palestinian National Authority to be held on January 20, 1996. Its tasks and competencies are defined by the Electoral Law published on December 7, 1995. The CEC consists of ten members, mainly university rectors and lawyers. Its chairman is Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Abu Mazen played a key role in negotiating the Oslo Agreement. He signed the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements on behalf of the PLO in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 1993.
The other members are:
For the preparation and conduct of the elections the CEC has established the District Election Offices (DEOs) and Polling Station Commissions (PSCs).
The first task of the preparation of the elections was the voters registration which was conducted in a huge canvass throughout the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and in the Gaza Strip. A draft Electoral Register was published on December 10, 1995. After examination of claims and appeals the final Electoral Register was published on December 30, 1995. A supplementary register will be published on January 17, 1996.
The registration of candidates was open from December 14 to December 23 and from December 30 to December 31. After the end of the nominations period the CEC published the Provisional Statement of Persons Nominated. After a three days period for appeals and objections to nominations the CEC will publish the Final Statement of Persons Nominated on January 5, 1996. On the same day the election campaign will start.
For the election campaign the CEC will publish a list of all venues and facilities available for rallies and meetings. It is also responsible to assure that the campaign activities correspond to the conditions set out in the Electoral law.
On the election day the CEC through the DEOs and PSCs organises the polling and the count of the votes. It then publishes the results of the votes.
The CEC is also responsible for the co-operation with the International and Domestic Observers. The CEC will supply observers with all information they ask for. Observers must be accredited by the CEC. Invited international observer delegations are being coordinated by the European Union through the headquarters of the EU-Electoral Unit in Ramallah.
The CEC also deals with complaints such as offences of a candidate against the electoral law or alleged discrimination of candidates. A special Elections Appeals Court will deal with questions that cannot be solved on a lower level.
The preparations of the elections were first conducted under the responsability of the Palestinian Commission for Local Government and Elections (PCLGE) appointed by a Decree of President Yasser Arafat in December 1993. This commission that later was renamed as Central Election Commission acted under the authority of the minister for local government affairs, Dr. Saeb Erakat, and was especially responsible for the voters registration campaign.