Palestinian Elections

Mustafa Barghuti (Middle East Online photo)

Diplomacy..

EXPECTANT: Palestinians wait outside a polling station in the West Bank town of Jericho during Thursday's municipal elections. Hamas battled Fatah for voter support. MUHAMMED MUHEISEN/AP

PNI Press Conference Marking International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People Focuses on Elections and the Apartheid Wall
Palestine Monitor 11/29/2005
Ramallah, 29-11-05: The Palestinian National Initiative (PNI) marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People with a press conference in its Ramallah offices. The conference was led by PNI General Secretary, Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi, who contrasted the threat posed to the existence of an independent, viable state by Israel’s Apartheid Wall, with upcoming elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which represent a form of non-violent resistance to Israel’s ongoing occupation.

EU election observation mission for Palestinian legislative council elections
ReliefWeb/European Commission 11/21/2005
The European Commission will deploy in mid December an EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) for elections to the Palestinian Legislative Council, currently scheduled for 25 January 2006. The EU EOM, will assess whether the electoral process is conducted in accordance with international standards. The Commission welcomes the holding of these elections as a further step in democracy building within the Palestinian Territories.

Palestinians ask U.S. to prevent Israeli intervention in elections
Ha''aretz 11/30/2005
WASHINGTON - Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Eerekat urged the United States on Tuesday to send thousands of election monitors and to increase pressure on Israel not to "sabotage" Palestinian elections in January. Speaking after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Erekat said he appealed to her personally to help ensure that the parliamentary elections set for January 25 take place without Israeli interference.

PA official fears Israeli ''sabotage''
YNetNews 11/29/2005
During a news conference at the Palestine Center, Erekat refers several times to the possibility of Israeli sabotage and assassination -- Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat raised concerns Tuesday that Israel might try to sabotage Palestinian elections in January, or even resort to assassination to upset balloting. After talks at the White House and with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the longtime associate of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said thousands of monitors were needed to oversee the elections set for January 25.

Top adviser: PM to offer PA independence for security
Ha''aretz 11/23/2005
Ariel Sharon will offer the Palestinians independence in exchange for the guarantee of security for Israelis if he is re-elected prime minister, according to comments by a top adviser published in a British daily Wednesday. Political strategist Eyal Arad told The Guardian newspaper that Sharon would not operate on the principle of land for peace if he wins elections slated for March. Arad did not answer phone calls requesting comment Wednesday....The root of the conflict is based on the Palestinian quest for independence, Arad said.

EU: 172 Observers to Observe Legislative Elections in OPT
ReliefWeb 11/22/2005
BRUSSELS, November 22, 2005 (WAFA)-The European Union said that some 172 observers will be deployed in mid December to the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) to observe the elections of Legislative Council. In a press release issued Monday, EU revealed that Election Observation Mission (EOM) will assess whether the electoral process is conducted in accordance with international standards, adding that the mission will be led by Véronique de Keyser, Member of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee and the EP Delegation for relations with the Mashreq countries.

EC Calls on Israel to Improve Voting arrangements for Palestinian Elections
WAFA 11/21/2005
BRUSSELS, November 21, 2005 (WAFA) - The European Council (EC) calls on Israel urgently to improve voting arrangements for the upcoming Palestinian legislative elections, including facilitating effectively voter registration, access to polling stations and campaigning. In its 2691st External Relations meeting on Monday, the Council welcomed the holding of multi-party elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council foreseen for 25 January 2006.

Hamas: We oppose calm renewal
YNetNews 11/17/2005
In phone call with Palestinian prisoners in Israel, leading Hamas member Khaled Mashal says movement will request renewal of calm discussions only after PA elections; claims he has proof sources in PA working together with Israel to harm Hamas -- Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas'' political bureau, said Thursday that the movement has asked to delay the discussions on the calm until after the Palestinian Authority elections, and it does not think that the calm should be renewed.

Israel to avoid arresting Hamas candidates during PLC elections
Ha''aretz 11/16/2005
Israel will avoid arresting Hamas candidates during the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, unless they are suspected of terror involvement, a senior government official in Jerusalem said Tuesday. He said that Israel will also enable the elections to take place in East Jerusalem, in accordance with the Oslo Accords, but will not "make an effort" to assist the election process as it has done before.

Abed Rabbo to Norwegian FM: Hamas Part of Palestinian People
Palestine Media Center 11/14/2005
Jonas Stoere: ‘Settlements and the Wall are a Problem on the Road to Peace’ -- Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Yasser Abed Rabbo told the visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on Sunday that the Palestinian legislative elections are an “internal Palestinian affair” in which Israel has no right to interfere. Stoere and Abed Rabbo, who is also the chairman of the Palestinian Peace Coalition (PPC), met at the American Colony hotel in Jerusalem on Sunday evening.

Palestinians Lobby White House To Press Israel on Arab Voting in Jerusalem
Forward 11/11/2005
WASHINGTON — Claiming that Israel plans to obstruct Palestinian voting in East Jerusalem, the Palestinian Authority is urging the Bush administration and European governments to pressure Israel to permit unrestricted participation of Jerusalem Arab voters in the upcoming Palestinians elections. At issue, Palestinian officials said, are about 120,000 residents of East Jerusalem who do not hold Israeli citizenship — or almost 10% of the Palestinian electorate.

Abbas, Barghouthi Reject Sharon’s Threats to Disrupt Elections
Palestine Media Center 11/8/2005
EU Urges Israel to Facilitate Conduct of Palestinian Legislative Polls -- President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday rejected as a flagrant interference in the Palestinian internal affairs the threats by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s to disrupt the Palestinian upcoming legislative elections, scheduled for January 25, which the European Union’s foreign ministers said in a statement that they are “an essential element for progress” in the regional peace process.

Analysis / The Palestinian sine qua non
By Amos Harel, Ha''aretz 11/8/2005
Why has Israel backed off from its threat to prevent Hamas from participating in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections? Prime Minister Sharon has made two declarations on this matter, and their timing hints at an answer.....Sharon''s new line is: We won''t forcibly disrupt the elections if Hamas takes part, but we also won''t supply the freedom of movement we promised in the territories.

Sharon says talks with PA off if Hamas runs in parliamentary elections
Ha''aretz 11/7/2005
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on Monday that Israel is vehemently opposed to Hamas'' participation in the upcoming Palestinian legislative elections. Speaking before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Sharon said if Hamas participates in the January 25 Palestinian elections, Israel would not hold joint meetings with Palestinians, and would make it difficult for Hamas members to campaign freely.

Human Rights..

On January 9, 2005 Palestinians living in the occupied territories will elect a president of the Palestinian Authority and new members of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the second general elections in nearly eight years. (Helga Tawil photo)

People..

Yossi Beillin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, leaders of the so-called Geneva Accord

Election polls: Drop in Hamas support
YNetNews 11/23/2005
Poll published by Palestinian Center for Public Opinion Polls reveals Hamas receives 22 percent of public support; 60 percent of Palestinians support negotiations with Israel, 76 percent intend on voting in coming elections -- Approximately 60 percent of the Palestinians support a renewal of the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a poll published Wednesday by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion Polls revealed.

An-Najah National University Poll: 66.8% of Palestinians Believe Legislative Elections Will Be Conducted January 25 (PDF)
Palestine Media Center 11/20/2005
An-Najah National University Center of Opinion Polls and Survey Studies - 15th Public Opinion Poll - November 16-18, 2005 This poll undertakes several subjects centered on the coming Palestinian legislative elections, an assessment of the performance of institutions of the Palestinian Authority, the state of democracy and human rights in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip in addition to political sympathies and other issues.

Poll: 39.5% to Vote for Fateh, 19.9% for Hamas movement
International Press Center 11/21/2005
GAZA, Palestine, November 21, 2005, (IPC) - - The fifteenth Palestinian public opinion poll which was conducted by Opinion Polls and Surveying Studies Center (OPSSC) at An-Najah University, showed that 75.5% of Palestinians will partake into the coming legislative elections and 66.8% believe that the elections will be held on its scheduled date. The (OPSSC) said that 1360 illegible citizens participated in the poll, 860 are from the West Bank while the other 500 from the Gaza Strip.

International..

Arabs heed Obama’s call for change
Alaa Bayoumi, Al Jazeera 2/4/2008
If it were not for Barack Obama, many Arabs would not even bother to follow the results of the US presidential race on Super Tuesday. Such gloomy views could be attributed to Arabs’ negative attitudes toward governments and politics in general. Arabs have been living under authoritarian governments, many of them US allies, for decades. And the US’s traditional support for Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land, coupled with the war on Iraq, has meant Arab mistrust of the US has dipped to new lows in recent years. Against this backdrop, it is easy to see why many Arabs will not be following the latest news from the US presidential primary elections. ’Offensive’ rhetoric Many do not see any serious differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates who are taking part in the race.

Ahmadinejad battles on the home front
Khody Akhavi, Asia Times 2/5/2008
WASHINGTON - Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, Israel and his government’s alleged support of Shi’ite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in Ahmadinejad’s office." Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonize almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.

IRAN: Ahmadinejad Caught Between Reformists and Hardliners
Khody Akhavi, Inter Press Service 1/28/2008
WASHINGTON, Jan 28(IPS) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has garnered headlines around the world for his defiance of Washington, as well as his rhetorical grandstanding on Palestinian issues, the existence of Israel, and his government’s alleged support of Shiite militias in Iraq. Still, it appears that Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections in March will be determined less by debates over the country’s foreign policy than by rising criticism of incompetence and economic mismanagement of conservatives and hardliners in the legislature and in the office of the president. "Ahmadinejad is in trouble, not only because his economic policies have not worked; he has managed to antagonise almost the entire Iranian elite because of his exclusivist management style," said Farideh Farhi, an independent researcher on Iran and political scientist at the University of Hawaii.

Mideast press urges action on Gaza
BBC Online 6/14/2007
The Palestinian press makes an urgent appeal for action to prevent the violence in Gaza from turning into a full-blown civil war, urging President Abbas to call a state of emergency and ask for intervention from the region’s Arab states. Papers in the wider Middle East blame the violence on Palestinian leaders and demand fresh elections to resolve the power struggle between the Hamas and Fatah factions. In Israel, commentators ponder how the country should react to the Palestinian infighting, with one advocating a total withdrawal of Israeli troops and settlers from the occupied territories. - Palestinian AL-QUDS -- It seems we have reached the point of no return in this infighting and are witnessing the beginnings of civil war.

Lebanon factions resume talks
AlJazeera 3/22/2006
Leaders of Lebanon''s rival factions have resumed talks on the fate of the country''s pro-Syrian president and a UN call for the disarmament of the Hizb Allah group. The talks come amid signs that an agreement remains elusive on the two issues that threaten to destabilise the country. The discussions, which began on 2 March, have focused on a 2004 UN Security Council resolution that calls for disarming Hizb Allah and Palestinian fighters. The resolution also urged new presidential elections. It was passed in September 2004, days before Lebanese legislators extended Emile Lahoud''s term for three years.

Chirac vows ''voice of reason'' on Iran
Daily Star 3/6/2006
French president labels cartoon row a ''clash of ignorance'' -- RIYADH: French President Jacques Chirac said Sunday the West would still reach out to Iran for a deal on its disputed nuclear file, in the first address to the Saudi consultative council by a foreign leader. The president''s wide-ranging speech in Riyadh also covered Lebanon, Syria, the Palestinian elections, reform in the conservative monarchy and the "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam. "In Iran, the voice of reason that France, the United Kingdom and Germany wanted to be heard on the nuclear file has not been heard, for the time being," Chirac told the appointed advisory council, an all-male body of 150 members.

Palestinian Americans Push Religious Pluralism in P.A.
Forward 2/17/2006
WASHINGTON — Palestinian American activists are vowing to lobby Hamas against turning the West Bank and Gaza into an Islamic theocracy. Anxious about the victory of the Islamic fundamentalist group in last month''s Palestinian parliamentary elections, Palestinian American leaders say that they will push for laws favoring American-style church-state separation, pluralism, equality and inclusiveness. "We are at the time when defining decisions may very well be made in Palestine," said Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine. The task force is a prominent pro-Palestinian advocacy group in Washington.

Disagreement With Gaza Disengagement Sours Orthodox on Bush
Forward 6/24/2005
As Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Israeli and Palestinian leaders this week, cracks were emerging in the coalition of Jewish conservatives that rallied this past November around the claim that President Bush was "the best friend Israel ever had in Washington." Many influential Republican loyalists and non-Orthodox hawks appear to be remaining firm in their support of Bush. But a growing number of Orthodox activists who were avidly courted by Bush in the 2004 election are feeling distinctly dismayed as the administration embraces Israel''s Gaza disengagement plan and presses for more aid to the Palestinians.

Elections give hope to Palestinian refugees
Daily Star 6/7/2005
BEIRUT: Palestinian refugees living in squalid and overcrowded camps dare to hope the legislative elections will directly improve their lives. "I have been monitoring the elections to see if they will bring change," said Mohammad al-Daoud, 21, outside Beirut''s Chatilla camp where portraits of candidates jostle those of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Some 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in 12 refugee compounds in South Lebanon, where conditions are often harsh and permanent citizenship is denied to all. Fouad Abed, 36, complained that the candidate he was rooting for lost in the first part of the four-stage elections that took place May 29.

El Salvador group opens park in honor of late Palestinian leader Arafat
Ha''aretz 5/25/2005
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - A new plaza on Jerusalem Avenue was inaugurated Wednesday in honor of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, despite criticism from the Israeli Embassy in El Salvador. "We are making a monument to the maximum leader of the struggle for the liberation of Palestine," said one of the promoters, businessman John Nasser, as the square with a large bust of Arafat was inaugurated. Migrants from Palestine flowed to El Salvador for decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and several families became prominent in business and politics. Both President Tony Saca and his rival in last year''s election, Schafik Handal, are sons of families that migrated from the Palestinian city of Bethlehem.

AIPAC Losing this Fight
Electronic Intifada 3/7/2005
Press Release, Council for the National Interest -- AIPAC has been taken aback by new Mideast resolutions. Last month the House and the Senate each passed their own resolutions expressing support for the Palestinian Authority in the wake of their successful presidential elections. The Washington Jewish Week reported that many on the Hill feel the Israel lobby was caught asleep on this one. The problem for the lobby was simple: popular support and optimism after the Palestinian presidential elections took the wind out of any possible grounds for raising opposition to the resolutions.

Arabs warmly welcome Abbas election
Middle East Online 1/10/2005
Analysts, officials hail election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, pay tribute to strong voter turnout. -- Arabs gave a warm welcome Monday to the election of Mahmud Abbas as Palestinian leader, admiring a successful exercise in Arab democracy and hoping that a strong voter turnout will bolster his position. Analyst Nabil Abdel Fattah of Cairo''s Al Ahram Center of Strategic Studies said the high turnout and the strong result for Mahmud Abbas "gives him the necessary legitimacy for his plans to resolve the conflict" with Israel.

Press Review: ''The hour of truth has arrived''
The Guardian 1/11/2005
Mahmoud Abbas wins but how will events now develop? -- Times, Editorial, January 10 - "After [Sunday''s] election ... there was a palpable feeling that something had changed ... Mahmoud Abbas, the pragmatist favoured by Israel and the outside world ... won a triumphant victory ... to succeed the late ... Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority ...

Economy..