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Mahmoud Abbas (AP File photo)
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| By Associated Press January 25, 2006 |
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The ruling Fatah Party won enough seats in Palestinian parliamentary elections on Wednesday to keep Islamic Hamas militants out of the government, despite their strong second-place showing, according to an exit poll by Bir Zeit University.
Fatah took 46.4 percent of the vote in Palestinian parliamentary elections on Wednesday, to 39.5 percent for Hamas in its first legislative run, the exit poll showed.
Before the balloting, Fatah had said it would rather team with smaller parties than with Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction and whose presence in the government could have caused friction with Israel, the U.S. and Europe.
The results would translate into 63 seats for Fatah and 58 for Hamas in the 132-seat Palestinian legislature, pollsters said.
The radical Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine took 4.2 percent of the vote, or three seats, while the Third Way party, led by former Finance Minister Salaam Fayyad, won 2.4 percent of the vote.
Parties must win 2 percent of the vote to enter parliament.
Fatah captured 52 percent of the vote in the Gaza Strip, and 42 percent in the West Bank. Hamas was the biggest vote-getter in the biggest cities _ Gaza City and the West Bank towns of Hebron and Nablus.
A total of 8,000 voters in 232 polling stations were surveyed for the exit poll, which had a one-seat margin of error.
Pollsters did not give the margin in percentage points.
An earlier exit poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Public Opinion gave Fatah 42 percent and Hamas 35 percent, or 58 seats to 53. The survey of 18,000 voters had a margin of error of 4 percent.
The results of both surveys were roughly in line with expectations, though Hamas polled slightly stronger than forecast.
"In the morning, we saw voting in favor of Hamas in all areas and regions," said Nader Said, who directed the Bir Zeit poll. "In the afternoon, things turned around and Fatah bounced back. The results might be different in the morning, in Fatah's favor."
Said said Hamas won at least three seats in east Jerusalem, where Israel had considered canceling balloting to keep the militant group from gaining any kind of legitimacy in the city.
Palestinians view the eastern sector of Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, while Israel declares all of the city to be its eternal and undivided capital.
US, EU, Israel to reassess PA relations after strong Hamas showing
The United States and other sponsors of a plan to draw Israelis and Palestinians back to the peace table will reassess peace prospects next week, after an expected strong showing by the Islamist group Hamas in Palestinian parlimentary voting on Wednesday.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and other members of the "Quartet" of would-be international peacemakers will meet Monday in London, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.
The Quartet, which also includes the European Union and Russia, is on record against allowing Palestinian Authority cabinet status for anyone who has not renounced violence or recognized Israel's right to exist. Hamas has done neither.
Early exit polling suggested that Hamas placed a close second to the ruling Fatah Party, and the rival groups could end up forming a governing coalition.
Strong voter support for Hamas, responsible for dozens of suicide bombings against Israel, places the militant and political group inside the Palestinian political system for the first time.
Hamas boycotted earlier parliamentary elections, and Israel objected early on to allowing its participation in Wendesday's voting. Israel has warned it will not negotiate with any Palestinian government that includes Hamas.
Before the election, Hamas leaders said they would seek service ministries in a future cabinet, such as health, education and welfare. They said they would leave diplomacy, including contacts with Israel, to others.
Rice has said Hamas represents a "practical problem" for Israel in pursuing peace contacts. Hamas also poses a practical problem for the United States and European nations that list it as a terrorist organization.
"We don't deal with Hamas. And under the current circumstances, I don't see that changing," McCormack said Wednesday.
Even so, he did not rule out dealing with the Palestinian Authority at large, which will still be led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. McCormack also would not say whether the United States would withhold aid to the Palestinians if Hamas is in the government, although other U.S. officials have indicated that could happen.
"As for what policies the United States and the Quartet pursues based on what kind of Palestinian Authority there is, what kind of policies they pursue, we'll see" what the elections produce, McCormack said. "We're not there yet."
The Quartet meeting takes place a day ahead of a separate international gathering on the rebuilding of Afghanistan.
In December, the group issued a strongly worded statement noting a "fundamental contradiction" between armed militia activities and construction of a democratic state. The goal of the international peace effort is to erect an independent, democratic Palestine in areas where Palestinians already are concentrated alongside Israel.
The Quartet statement said that "a future Palestinian Authority Cabinet should include no member who has not committed to the principles of Israel's right to exist in peace and security and an unequivocal end to violence and terrorism," the statement said.
The Quartet put no conditions or threats on its recommendation, and McCormack would not do so Wednesday.
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