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PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (AP file photo)
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| By Associated Press April 16, 2005 |
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Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday that he planned to hold Palestinian parliamentary elections on schedule, even as other Palestinian officials signaled a possible delay.
The Islamic militant group Hamas, suspecting that Abbas' ruling Fatah party wants to buy time to try to recover some of the popular support it has lost to Hamas, said it would consider calling off an unofficial truce with Israel if the July 17 balloting were postponed.
Hamas agreed to Abbas' appeal for a cease-fire in part because the Palestinian leader pledged to reform the Palestinian Authority, and Abbas now finds himself caught between that pledge and pressure to buoy Fatah's electoral prospects.
"We have no intentions or desire to delay these elections," Abbas told reporters at his West Bank headquarters.
But Information Minister Nabil Shaath left some wiggle room, suggesting the vote might be held up by Israel's evacuation of settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, scheduled to begin in late July.
"The question really has to do with the Israeli pullout of Gaza during that time, and our fear that the Israelis might make it difficult for people to do real election campaigns and have real freedom of movement," he said.
"This is really the only consideration," he said. "And this consideration will be discussed with Hamas and with everybody."
Hamas, expected to make a strong showing in its first legislative contest, has said it would only participate in the race if the election law were revised to afford better representation for smaller parties.
The Palestinian election commission had said parliament must amend the election law no later than three months before the balloting -- that is, by Sunday -- but Palestinian lawmaker Hanan Ashrawi said the vote would not be held until later this week. A top election commission official, Ammar Dwaik, said passage of the law a few days late wouldn't hold up parliamentary elections, but a month's delay would.
If Hamas wanted elections to go ahead on time, it could yield on its demand for electoral modifications and run under the prevailing election law, Shaath said.
Hamas "will have to decide whether this is something it would like to live with or would rather delay for two or three weeks in order to obtain a new law," he said.
Hamas is expected to wrest from Fatah the support of many Palestinians fed up with the ruling party's corruption and ineffectiveness, but Fatah hopes it can recoup some of that lost backing if given more time. In January, Hamas roundly defeated Fatah in 10 municipal elections in Gaza, and chipped away at the ruling party's power in a local West Bank race a month earlier.
Shaath denied that Fatah was headed to take a beating in the July vote.
"If people want to judge things by the results of the 83,000 people who voted in 10 small constituencies in Gaza, I think everybody is seriously mistaken," he said.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said a delay in the vote would prompt Hamas to rethink its de facto truce with Israel.
"Now there are indications that the Palestinian Authority has intentions to delay the elections," Abu Zuhri said. "In the event the situation continues as is...the Hamas movement will be pushed to re-evaluate its position on the truce that is on the verge of collapse."
The militant group, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and has killed hundreds in dozens of suicide bombings, seeks influence in parliament to block concessions to Israel and battle Palestinian government corruption.
Abbas is scheduled to meet in Egypt on Sunday with President Hosni Mubarak to discuss political developments since the Palestinian leader and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon declared an end to more than four years of political violence in February. The two are also to discuss Palestinian coordination with Israel on the Gaza withdrawal.
Abbas said he plans to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah after his meeting with Mubarak.
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