Palestinians cast historic vote

Palestinians streamed into more than 1,000 polling stations Wednesday in the first parliamentary election in a decade, one that will determine the shape of future prospects for returning to peace talks with Israel.

The ballot itself is largely viewed as a reality check over who Palestinians want steering them into that future: secular Fatah Party, the ruling faction that brought the Palestinian Authority (PA) into being through its willingness to negotiate with Israel, or Islamic Hamas, which stands by suicide bombings and other attacks as its way of facing off with the Jewish state.

Three hours after the polls closed, different organizations released varying figures. Al Arabiyeh, the Arab satellite channel, estimated that of the 132 seats, Fatah won 65 and Hamas won 48. But Al Jazeera, quoting an exit poll carried out by Bir Zeit University near Ramallah, showed Fatah winning 63 seats and Hamas winning 58.

Exit polls suggest that small parties and independent candidates attracted more supporters than expected, and many of these would be natural coalition partners of Fatah.

These potential allies of Fatah include the Third Way Party, led by former finance minister Salaam Fayyad and Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi, as well as a liberal, progressive party led by Dr. Mustafa Barghouti.

Official results were expected to be released Thursday.

Given recent unrest in the West Bank and Gaza, the elections were carried out without any major incidents of violence or disruptions at polling stations.

Still, many campaign activists bent the rules, ignoring a prohibition on any electioneering outside the voting places. Hadija Jadour and Samah Jarah passed out campaign cards to voters who made their way up the dirt road into a girls' school in Obediyeh, a West Bank municipality east of Bethlehem.

The women describe themselves as friends, but the black-and-white keffiyeh-style sash that Ms. Jadour wears stands in contrast to the green one around Ms. Jarah's veil. That seems to say it all: Palestinians are deeply divided over who should lead and how.

The keffiyah marks Jadour's support for Fatah, while Jarah's green ribbon shows the world, as she puts it, "I love Hamas."

Explains Jarah: "Hamas has always been the center of the resistance, and they are working on giving assistance to people and developing our society."

"It's not true," argues Jadour, smiling wryly at her friend's comment. "Fatah is the one who established the Palestinian Authority in the first place. Fatah wants to solve things in a diplomatic way, not by violence."

Asked if they discuss these issues often, the women grin and look in different directions. "We don't go into politics," says Jarah, "or it might ruin the good relationship we have."

That dynamic, pitting friend against friend, and even brother against brother, was repeated throughout the Palestinian territories. Among the more famed divisions, one of the senior-most members of the Fatah, Jibril Rajoub, who long served as the West Bank security czar for the PA, was running against his own brother, Naif Rajoub, an Islamic religious figure who is high on the list of candidates for Hamas.

"Let's remember that the decision to hold new elections was made by us in Fatah, to reestablish the legitimacy of the regime. But I'm sure both of us will win," Jibril Rajoub says, speaking of his brother. "There's nothing wrong with having him, as part of Hamas, in the government. I'm proud of that."

But Hamas isn't sure that it's actually prepared to be part of a government led by Fatah - particularly one with plans to carve out peace with Israel.

One top candidate in Hamas, interviewed in Ramallah, says that Hamas is keeping its options open. It may decide to join Fatah and be a partner in the PA, or it may decide to instead play the role of a feisty opposition party, blocking attempts to make concessions in negotiations with Israel. Equally interesting, however, may be what Hamas plans to do domestically with its bolstered muscle and putative legitimacy.

"We want to clean the internal Palestinian house, to put an end to corruption in the Palestinian Authority, and to bring to justice those who have stolen from the people," says Ahmad Abdel-Aziz Mubarek, a Ramallah candidate for Hamas. "The Authority sometimes banned Hamas people from getting jobs and harassed them. We will put an end to that."

Page: 1 | 2