Ramallah: The Independent Palestine coalition, headed by Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, today held a peaceful protest outside Central Election Commission (CEC) offices in Ramallah, to protest attacks carried out by gunmen against CEC offices in Nablus and the Gaza Strip on Tuesday.
The attacks have led to talk that Legislative elections, slated for 25 January, may be postponed due to the inability of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to guarantee the safety of voters and election officials, and to ensure the independence of the election process.
Speaking to press, Dr. Barghouthi condemned the assaults, underlining that any attack on the CEC, and therefore on the democratic process, is akin to an attack on the Palestinian people themselves. “We are here today to protect the democratic process with our bodies,” he added.
Dr. Barghouthi also stressed that the democratic process in Palestine should not be held hostage to internal Fatah conflicts, and called on the PA to take immediate steps to ensure the safety of voters and election officials, and not to further destabilize the democratic process by postponing the elections.
The protest was attended by representatives of civil society and non-governmental organisations as well as candidates of the Independent Palestine Coalition, and members of the Palestinian National Initiative (PNI).
Independent Palestine is a coalition composed of independents, business leaders, academics, writers, women, youth, labour movements, and the PNI, from the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
It represents the truly independent “third way” in Palestinian politics, providing the huge majority of silent and undecided Palestinian voters with a democratic alternative to the bi-polar options presented by Hamas and Fatah.