No legitimate peace talks without elections

By Dr Mustapha Barghouthi, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative

This may only be Ahmed Qurei''s second attempt, albeit in as many months, at forming a government, but the cabinet ratified on November 12 is the fifth Palestinian government to be formed in the space of a year.

Furthermore, the circumstances from which it arises have altered only negligibly from those surrounding all previous attempts.The still dominant unrepresentative ''old guard'' continues to rob the political system, and peace negotiators, of any legitimacy.

Meanwhile, the continuing impasse provides both Ariel Sharon, Israel''s prime minister, and Hamas, the Islamist militant group, with justification for maintaining the status quo and pursuing their respective interests.

Gloomy predictions about the fate of Ahmed Qurei''s government are perhaps inevitable in the light of the fate of the previous four. Yet the dynamics responsible for the succession of failures remain all too clear.

The fact that Palestine has experienced five consecutive governments in less than a year clearly reflects a profound crisis in the Palestinian political structure - a crisis bound to persist as long as the Palestinian political system remains a "closed" system.

The existing regime''s strategy for government has prevented the implementation of a number of processes and reforms that are essential for the development of institutional forms of representative decision making.

The process most obviously lacking and most desperately needed is one of democratic elections. The present administration and the legislative council, or parliament, have consistently found ways to overstay their original term, which should have ended with a new round of elections in 1999.

Since then the parliament has functioned unsanctioned with a 66 per cent majority of Fatah members. The governing party has an absolute majority which has for the last seven years, at least, remained unchangeable in the absence of elections.

This absence affects all sectors of society. Elections have not taken place at the municipal level since 1976, after which Israel prevented all electoral possibilities until 1994.

Since its inauguration that year, the Palestinian Authority has taken it upon itself to appoint the 6,000-odd municipal members rather than have them elected by the people.

After almost ten years of pre-eminence the PA has developed, no doubt, an inherent disinclination towards the prospect of holding elections. To put it more simply the PA remains averse to opening up the system for fear of losing the control and power it has for so long enjoyed.

The absence of elections and the inability to transform the Palestinian system of rule into an accountable system of governance has severely affected the viability of all political life in Palestine.

Many members of the Palestinian legislative council and civil society, including the Palestinian National Initiative - a democratic opposition movement established in June 2002 - have been lobbying for and publicly demanding the holding of legislative and presidential elections in Palestine.

But opposition groups attempting to become part of the political process and participate in democratic decision making can find no way of doing so.

Their inability to voice their opinions, or be heard and represented is severely weakening civil society - an important dynamic in the democratisation and nation-building process.

Unsanctioned by elections and thus stripped of any representative authority, those now bargaining for the future of Palestine are seriously undermining the legitimacy of any negotiations with Israel.

Elections are thus a vital precondition for peace. The European experience demonstrates clearly that real, viable and lasting peace can be established only between democracies, ratified by representatives who are freely elected.

Those who deny elections are not only betraying the Palestinian people but are also playing straight into the hands of Mr Sharon who has simultaneously made Palestinian political reform a pre-requisite for negotiations, while systematically undermining any reform efforts.

Presenting the PA as a corrupt, terror regime is not a call for Palestinian reform but an excuse for Israel''s continued failure to abide by the US-backed "road map" for peace.

The very last thing Sharon wants is any legitimate Palestinian representative institution, and he certainly does not want to see the Palestinian people empowered through a democratically-installed regime.

As such he is most unlikely to end the occupation and its collective punishment policy of closures, checkpoints and curfews that restrict Palestinian freedoms and thus inhibit the development of a democratic society.

Physical conditions on the ground, principally the siege and the fragmentation of Palestinian territory, the lack of freedom of movement, plus the constant Israeli military escalation and incursions, all render the conducting free and fair elections entirely unfeasible.

Consequently, Palestinian reformers and a community at large that is desperate for change are at an impasse.

Elections are without doubt essential to re-establish the viability of the political system and end the political crisis which will give back a sense of legitimacy to the peace process with Israel.

Yet at the same time freedom of movement is needed to ensure these elections may take place.

The PA is not insincere in highlighting the impossibility of holding elections in the current climate of full occupation and siege. Mr Qurei recently has ceded to popular pressure by announcing a date for elections in June 2004.

But these elections will not take place unless the international community provides an international presence to ensure an easing of the political and territorial conditions that make elections impossible.

While the world community must demand and ensure free and fair elections from the PA, these elections will require a freedom of movement that can only be achieved through a withdrawal of Israeli military forces and the removal of all checkpoints.