RAMALLAH: As of Saturday, 155,000 voters have registered in Gaza, the Central Elections Commission (CEC) of Gaza announced. There are two days remaining for voters to register. The head of the CEC told Maan News that 79% of eligible voters are now registered in Gaza and 76% are now registered in the occupied West Bank. The voter rolls have not been updated since 2005, before the elections in which Hamas took power. Since then, the CEC was not functioning in any capacity. This changed recently as reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas, who have a history of deep rivalry, advanced. Once the registration centers close on Monday, the CEC will sort through information and update the rolls. The process is expected to take between three and six weeks. Since the separation between Hamas and Fatah, no elections have been held for the office of the President or parliament. The terms of both the presidency and parliament have expired during the electoral impasse, leading to further criticisms of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. As soon as the voter registers are updated President Abbas will issue two decrees; one will announce the names of the new cabinet ministers and the other will set a date for presidential and legislative elections. After the decrees are issued the Palestinian Authority will be governed by a cabinet of technocrats headed by Abbas. Then Palestinians will have chance to deliver the “final word" through elections. BN
