Detained Barghuti Says No Elections without Unity

Almanar


15/12/2009 Detained Fatah leader Marwan Barghuti said in an interview with AFP that Palestinian elections should not be held without a national reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas. "Presidential and parliamentary elections must be held after reconciliation and in the context of a complete national agreement," Barghuti said in written responses to questions from AFP.

He added that the vote must be held in the occupied West Bank, including annexed occupied east Jerusalem, and in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. "Without that it will be difficult to carry them out and might not be worth it," he added.

Barghuti, the architect of the 2000 intifada, or uprising, is currently serving five life terms in an Israeli jail but remains popular and is often spoken of as a successor to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.

The detained leader from Abbas's secular Fatah party, who remains the most popular Palestinian leader, said however that he would not decide whether to run for president until a final date for elections is agreed upon in the context of a unity agreement. "When there is national reconciliation and an agreement and we are able to hold elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and (occupied) Jerusalem, then I will make the appropriate decision," he said.

His comments came as the Central Council of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was to meet to decide whether to extend the mandates of parliament and president after both will expire next month.

Although Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had called for new elections to be held in January, the electoral commission postponed the poll because Hamas vowed to prevent it from taking place in its Gaza stronghold. Hamas also insists on a reconciliation deal ahead of new elections.

The PLO, dominated by Fatah, represents most political factions but not Hamas. The umbrella group is considered the Palestinians' sole international representative and in theory is more powerful than the Palestinian Authority.

The PLO council will probably decide to prolong the mandates of both the president and parliament in order to avoid a constitutional limbo that could cement the rift between the rivals, said senior PLO official Saleh Rafat. "There will be no constitutional void," he said.

Abdallah Abdallah, a senior member of Abbas's Fatah, said it was clear that both mandates would expire on January 24. "If we can't hold elections, the president will have to continue working until new polls can be held," he said.

Hamas appears to agree with its rivals - so long as the mandate of parliament, where it has a majority, is also extended. "In the absence of reconciliation, it is wise to preserve the situation as it is until conditions are right to hold elections," said Hamas MP Mahmud Ramahi. "If not, the country will be plunged into political chaos."

The expected decision also appeared to enjoy the support of Hamas's Gaza leadership, with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyyeh insisting that the Hamas parliamentary speaker would remain in office. "Aziz al-Dweik will remain the legitimate leader of parliament until there are free and fair elections under a national reconciliation agreement," Haniyyeh told a mass rally on Monday.