RASED and CEC Hold an Awareness Meeting on Participation in Local Elections

RASED Palestine Coalition, in cooperation with the Central Elections Commission – Nablus Office, organized an awareness-raising meeting aimed at promoting public awareness of the importance of participation in the upcoming local elections, scheduled to take place on 25 April 2026. The meeting was held at the premises of Deraya Foundation in the Old City of Nablus.

During the meeting, Mahmoud Al-Musaymi, Coordinator of the Central Elections Commission in Nablus, reviewed the amendments introduced in the new Elections Law, explained the nomination and voting mechanisms, and shed light on the various stages of the electoral process.

Riyad Khanfar, Director of Madarat Center, highlighted the experience of RASED Palestine Coalition in electoral awareness-raising, monitoring previous local elections held in 2021 and 2022, and implementing specialized accountability programs. He also outlined the coalition’s preparations to carry out new awareness activities, monitor the upcoming elections, and equip the younger generation to participate effectively in the electoral process, thereby ensuring its integrity. In addition, he presented plans to develop accountability programs targeting newly elected bodies.

The meeting also addressed the issue of information accountability, as Baker Abdel-Haq, Director of the Palestinian fact-checking observatory Verify, discussed the observatory’s readiness to monitor misleading content and hate speech across the different stages of the electoral process. He noted that a specialized team has been assigned, bringing together fact-checkers and technical experts in artificial intelligence and digital technologies, with the aim of automating monitoring efforts throughout the elections.

It is worth noting that RASED Palestine Coalition brings together a number of Palestinian civil society organizations from all West Bank cities and the Gaza Strip, and is a founding member of Arab RASED Network, which includes Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Morocco. The network focuses on strengthening citizenship programs and supporting and advancing democratic processes across the Arab region.