On 29 November An Najah National University held its first Students Council election since 2001. The elections, which are normally held annually, were rendered impossible in 2002 and 2003 because of the Israeli re-occupation of the West Bank city of Nablus where the university is situated. This year, eight student blocks competed in a democratic atmosphere in the first election to take place under occupation after the pullback of the Israeli occupation troops in 1994 and the emergence of the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The election committee prepared 50 voting boxes for the 1,2574 students. The Shabebeh Block (Youth of the Fateh Movement) were declared the winners, taking 38 of the 81 chairs on the Student Council, just two chairs ahead of the Islamic Block (Youth of the Islamic Resistance Movement) who took 36 chairs. The socialist party, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) took three chairs, while the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and the Jamah Islameyyeh (Youth of the Islamic Jihad) each took two.
The University Administration and the leader of the Islamic Block congratulated Shabebeh on their success. The election process went smoothly without any disturbances worth mentioning, reflecting the high level of student responsibility.
More than 100 faculty staff and 200 university employees observed the election process which took place in a democratic fashion and with a turnout of 86.5%. The election campaign focused on the social and academic needs of the student body.
The An-Najah Students Council objectives are:
* Defending the students’ rights and solving their problems.
* Protecting the academic process and ensuring its regularity in a liberal and democratic atmosphere.
* Raising the awareness of the students about political, social and national issues.
* Improving the spirit of identification with the national cause.
* Representing the students’ needs to the Administration.
* Defending the students’ union rights in all fields.
* Coordinating the activities of the student blocks for the benefit of the university students.
* Facilitating the necessary student facilities in order to make their academic life as fruitful as possible.
The importance of the students’ movement goes back to its roots during the British Mandate when the students’ movement was responsible for educating people and organizing an awareness campaign about the dangers of the Jewish migration to Palestine. Its importance increased during the thirty years of the Israeli occupation after the 1967 war when the West Bank and Gaza Strip cities were occupied by the Israeli occupation troops, leading to an empowerment of the students’ movement. The student elections were considered as an indicator of the Palestinian community mood when there was no possibility of holding municipal elections or of gauging political attitudes.