The Central Committee of the Palestinian Democratic Union convened Saturday in Ramallah and Gaza City and elected the first ever female secretary-general of a Palestinian faction, Zahira Kamal.

Kamal was born in Jerusalem in 1945 and has held several official political positions. She was the first Palestinian Minister of Women's Affairs.

The Palestinian Democratic Union also raised women's representation to 40 percent in the general conference, and to 50 percent for the youth conference.

The party elected a new politburo and added 21 new members from the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and the diaspora.

Former secretary-general Salih Raafat, Palestinian Authority Minister of Culture Siham Barghouthi and Khalid Al-Khateib were all elected as deputy secretary-generals.