Early elections, law, participation and ambition

Ishtar Center held a discussion session entitled (Early Elections, Law, Participation and Ambition)

The government advisor, electoral expert and former director general of the Electoral Commission, Mr. Saad Al-Abdali, lectured in it.

The session was moderated by the director of the Ashtar Center Dr. Mohammed Alawia

During the session, the new election law and the commission’s preparations for early elections were reviewed

Among the most important outcomes of the discussions that took place in the session were:

1. The necessity of finding a final solution to the problem of updating the voter register and the biometric card, since the turnout for updating was weak, as nearly 16 million out of 26 million voters registered, but those who received their cards did not exceed 13 million.
2. The necessity of amending some paragraphs and articles in the election law, as they will cause problems after the elections, and also because some of them contradict the constitution, including the number of members of the Council (329 deputies), while the constitution stipulates that there should be one representative for every 100,000 citizens.
3. The need to reform the issue of contesting the results by the Commission in technical ways, as the current law requires re-counting and manual counting in the districts in which an appeal is submitted, and this causes a worrying delay in announcing the results.
4. Reconsidering the distribution and division of some electoral districts, as the current law merges some areas with other districts for political desires and interests.
5. The importance of providing electoral security for voters, candidates and polling stations.
6. Activating the role of the commission in limiting arms to the state through its application of the parties’ law and the necessity of putting pressure on the government to limit arms to the state.
7. Stimulating broad and large participation in the upcoming elections is an important duty to create a healthy democratic state in the country, and effective participation is capable of limiting any manipulation that may occur.