On visit to Ramallah, UN envoy expresses hopes for local polls ahead of elections next year

A top United Nations envoy today expressed the hope that the local polls taking place in the city of Ramallah and elsewhere across the West Bank “will re-establish elections as a crucial component of an inclusive, democratic process and will serve as a prelude to general elections being organized next year in all of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) in the context of reconciliation.”

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, made the comment while on visit to polling stations in Ramallah and its surrounding area.

“While the United Nations is neither officially monitoring the poll nor verifying its process, Mr. Serry considers it important that Palestinian citizens have the opportunity today to vote in local elections which are long overdue and to participate in decisions that directly affect their daily lives,” added a statement issued by the envoy’s office.

Mr. Serry is in Ramallah upon the invitation of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) to attend the local elections as a guest.

According to media reports, the local elections are for the positions mayors and local councils in 93 communities across the West Bank on Saturday, and are the first in six years.