by Saud Abu Ramadan
RAMALLAH, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party Saturday insisted that the presidential and
legislative elections should be held on Jan. 25 next year as scheduled, even if
Hamas movement rejects it.
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
speaks during a news conference after his meeting with Egypt's President
Hosni Mubarak at the Presidential palace in Cairo September 5, 2009.
(Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo)
Photo Gallery>>> |
Jamal Muhissen, a Fatah central committee member,
told Xinhua that his group "will not give up the constitutional right of holding
the presidential and legislative elections on its decided time according to the
Palestinian basic law."
"Fatah and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)
are still clinging to this date of Jan. 25, 2010 for the general elections, even
if Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, prevents the people of Gaza from
heading to the ballots by the use of force," he said.
On Wednesday, deposed Hamas Prime Minister Ismail
Haneya said his movement would reject the Palestinian elections held only in the
West Bank which neglects the Gaza Strip ruled by Hamas movement since June 2007.
Haneya told a group of journalists, human rights activists
and intellectuals that Hamas wants to hold elections in both Gaza and the West
Bank, "but only in one case, when we reach a reconciliation agreement that ends
the current rift" between rival Fatah and Hamas groups.
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Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (R)
shakes hands with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter after their joint
news conference in Gaza City June 16, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters,
File Photo)
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Abbas, also Fatah chief, said holding general
elections in the Palestinian territories "could put an end to the current crisis
of failing to reach a reconciliation agreement in Cairo."
Abbas met Saturday in Cairo with Egyptian President
Hosni Mubarak for talks on the inter-Palestinian dialogue and how to achieve
reconciliation among the Palestinian factions as soon as possible.
However, a Palestinian official close to him said the
ongoing sessions of endless dialogue between Hamas and Fatah "is useless and the
best solution is to hold elections on time."
Seven rounds of intensive inter-dialogue, sponsored
by Egypt, have been held in Cairo since early this year between the two rival
groups.
So far, the two groups still disagree on the issues
of joint security forces in Gaza, the electoral system, reforming Palestinian
Liberation Organization (PLO) and the unity government.
Muhissen also accused Hamas of escaping from the
commitment to holding the elections on time "because it (Hamas) is afraid that
it would be defeated through a democratic process."
He said Hamas has no intention to join the elections
"either on2010 or even on 2020."
"Therefore, Fatah movement would never surrender to
Hamas wishes by obstructing the Palestinian democratic process. The elections
will be held on time, whether Hamas movement accepts it or even prevents people
in Gaza from voting," said Muhissen.
Hamas defeated Fatah and dominated the Palestinian
Legislative Council (PLC) when it joined the legislative elections for the first
time in January 2006.
It then formed one government and headed another
unity government deposed after it seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007.
But Israel and the International Quartet, namely the
United States, Russian, the United Nations and Europe, had imposed an embargo on
Hamas and its two governments as it refused to recognize Israel and the interim
peace treaties and condemn violence.
Responding to concerns over the possibility of
holding the elections excluding Hamas, Muhissen said Abbas intends to issue a
presidential decree in October to call for holding the general presidential and
legislative elections in due time.
"Israel prevents 12,000 Palestinian prisoners in its
jails from voting, and Hamas may prevent 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza
Strip from voting," said Muhissen.
"Such actions have never annulled the democratic
Palestinian process," he said.
He also revealed that the electoral system "will be
fully proportional for all the Palestinian territories," which "would allow all
various political factions to join," adding "the proportional system would
disable Hamas to obstruct holding the elections."
Meanwhile, Palestinian observers expressed concerns
of renewal of internal violence between Fatah and Hamas as the elections
deadline approaches.
"I believe that we are close to a big crisis if
elections are only held in the West Bank, unless Hamas and Fatah negotiators
agree on an alternative voting system during the coming dialogue session in
Cairo at the end of September," said Ra'ed Afana, who is with a Gaza-based
political think tank.
On Thursday, Hassan Khreisha, second deputy speaker
of the PLC, urged all parties to pressure on both sides to an agreement at the
upcoming round of talks, warning that if the elections are not held on time,
neither Abbas nor the Hamas movement will remain legitimate in their positions.
