Workshop explores integration of technology into election at BZU

The Deanship of Student Affairs at Birzeit University, in cooperation with the Central Elections Commission (CEC), organized a workshop on the student body council elections on February 20, 2018.

The workshop, which aimed to brainstorm ideas on how to introduce technology into the electoral process, was attended by CEC Chief Electoral Officer Hisham Kuhail, CEC Spokesperson Fareed Taamallah, Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Mohammad Al Ahmad, Assistant to the Dean of Student Affairs Fadel Khaldi, and representatives of student political parties.

Dr. Al Ahmad highlighted the impressive cooperation between the university and the commission, which culminated in a number of awareness campaigns that had a positive impact on the student body council elections.

Kuhail noted that the Central Elections Commission adopted electronic voter registration on its website two years ago. “The world is moving toward using more technology in elections,” he added. Kuhail also suggested that the upcoming student body council elections pilot an electronic vote-counting mechanism.

Dr. Al Ahmad called for students and student political party representatives to explore adopting this technology and solicit opinions and guidance before taking a final decision on the matter.

The workshop was followed by a panel discussion between student party representatives, the Central Elections Commission, and the Deanship of Student Affairs on how to use and apply electronic vote counting in the student body council elections.