Democratic Alliance List
Democratic Alliance List قائمة التحالف الديمقراطي | |
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Coordinator | Mohammed Hamarsheh |
Founded | 2016 |
Ideology | Palestinian nationalism Secularism Socialism |
Political position | Left-wing |
National affiliation | PLO (majority) |
Factions | |
The Democratic Alliance List (Arabic: قائمة التحالف الديمقراطي), also referred to as the Democratic Alliance Forces (قوى التحالف الديمقراطي) or just the Democratic Alliance (التحالف الديمقراطي), was a coalition launched before the Palestinian local government elections that were initially scheduled for October 2016,[1] consisting of five left-wing Palestinian factions:
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
- Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)
- Palestinian People's Party (PPP)
- Palestinian Democratic Union (Fida), and
- Palestinian National Initiative (PNI)
along with several unaffiliated independent candidates.[2][3][4][5] The Alliance was led by a Central Committee and an Advisory Board.[6] Mohammed Hamarsheh was named coordinator of the Alliance.[7][8]
Launch
[edit]The Alliance was presented at a press conference in Ramallah on 10 August 2016, chaired by Mustafa Barghouti (General Secretary PNI), Qais Abd al-Karim (Deputy General Secretary DFLP), Bassam as-Salhi (General Secretary PPP), Khalida Jarrar (PFLP), and Zahira Kamal (Fida).[4] Jarrar stressed that the alliance would act as a third force, seeking to overcome the Fatah-Hamas dichotomy.[4]
Its candidature was officially registered with the Central Election Commission on 16 August 2016, the first day of registrations.[7][8][9] The Alliance was assigned the letter Aleph (أ), the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, as its ballot symbol.[7][8]
Campaign and lists
[edit]On the night of 23 August 2016, unknown gunmen reportedly opened fire on the residence of Nureddin Khalaf, the top candidate of the Alliance in Burqin municipality, Jenin Governorate.[10]
On 25 August 2016, the Alliance submitted to the Central Election Commission its candidate list for the Gaza Strip,[11] and indicated that Majida Al-Masri would head its list in the Nablus municipality.[12][13] In the Jenin municipality, the Alliance nominated PNI activist Mohammad Abu Al-Hija as its top candidate.[14]
In the Al-Bireh municipality, the Alliance declared that they were continuing the work of the previous 'Al-Bireh for All' list from past elections.[15] Jamal Al-Nasar was named number-one on the Alliance list in the municipality.[15]
Postponement of polls
[edit]On 8 September 2016, the Ramallah High Court of Justice postponed the local elections indefinitely.[16] The Democratic Alliance List and its constituent parties criticized the court ruling.[17]
Election results
[edit]At the elections, which took place on 13 May 2017, the Alliance won 5 of the 3,253 contested seats, gaining 0.32% of the votes.
Symbol
[edit]The symbol of the Democratic Alliance List resembles a dove in Palestinian national colours with the head shaped as the ballot symbol of the list, the letter Aleph. The text reads "Palestine deserves the Democratic Alliance".
References
[edit]- ^ "Palestinian court suspends local elections".
- ^ Ma'an News Agency. "التحالف الديمقراطي" يرفض التصريحات الهادفة لتعطيل الانتخابات
- ^ Feneeq News. القائمة (أ)..”التحالف الديمقراطي” يسجل رسميا لخوض الانتخابات المحلية[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Wattan. فيديو.. قوى التحالف الديمقراطي تعلن خوضها الانتخابات المحلية
- ^ Watania. فصائل اليسار تعلن "قائمة التحالف الديمقراطي" لخوض الانتخابات المحلية
- ^ Palestine News Network. التحالف الديمقراطي يعلن الانتهاء من تشكيل قائمته لانتخابات بلدية الخليل Archived 2016-08-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Sawa. تسجيل قائمة التحالف الديمقراطي لدى لجنة الانتخابات
- ^ a b c Palestine News Network. “قائمة التحالف الديمقراطي” تسجل رسميا لدى لجنة الانتخابات لخوض الانتخابات المحلية Archived 2016-08-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Central Election Commission - Palestine. لجنة الانتخابات تعلن عن فتح باب الترشح للانتخابات المحلية Archived 2017-01-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Alkarama Press. إطلاق النار على منزل مرشح للانتخابات بجنين Archived 2016-08-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Ma'an News Agency. التحالف الديمقراطي يسجّل قوائمه الإنتخابية
- ^ Wattan. بعد تدخل الرئيس .. 4 قوائم لانتخابات بلدية نابلس
- ^ Nablus al-Akhbaria. … القوائم الأولية لإنتخابات بلدية نابلس[permanent dead link]
- ^ Safa. في جنين: مواقع بقائمة واحدة لفتح بلا منافسين
- ^ a b Palestine News Network. تسجيل قائمة التحالف الديمقراطي لانتخابات بلدية البيرة Archived 2016-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Al-Monitor. Palestinians on both sides seethe over postponed elections Archived 2016-11-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Alternative Information Center. Palestinian Supreme Court freezes municipal elections in West Bank, Gaza Archived 2016-11-09 at the Wayback Machine