Jailed Fatah leader shakes up Palestinian election by running rival candidates against his own party

Record ID: 1608980

  • Title: Jailed Fatah leader shakes up Palestinian election by running rival candidates against his own party
  • Date: 31st March 2021
  • Summary: PEOPLE SURROUNDING VEHICLE CARRYING JADALLAH JABALIYA, GAZA (RECENT - MARCH 14, 2021) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GREETING DAHLAN SUPPORTER, RASHID ABU SHBAK, FOR COMING BACK TO GAZA POSTER FOR ABU SHBAK, LATE PALESTINIAN PRESIDENT YASSER ARAFAT
  • Embargoed: 14th April 2021 23:02
  • Keywords: Fatah Hamas Palestinians elections lists
  • Location: GAZA CITY, RAFAH, JABALIYA, GAZA/ RAMALLAH, WEST BANK
  • City: GAZA CITY, RAFAH, JABALIYA, GAZA/ RAMALLAH, WEST BANK
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Middle East,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA008E6EYWQV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti threw the May 22 parliamentary elections into turmoil on Wednesday by announcing a rival slate of candidates to run against his own Fatah party.
    Barghouti and Nasser Al-Qudwa - a nephew of the party's late founder and figurehead Yasser Arafat - laid down a direct challenge to Fatah leader President Mahmoud Abbas by registering their own list which they called "Freedom."
    The breakaway group was headed by Qudwa and Barghouti's wife Fadwa, who both arrived at the Central Election Commission headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah an hour ahead of the midnight registration deadline.
    But Barghouti, 61, was not among the names - fueling speculation that he may be preparing to run against Abbas - who is 85 and in poor health - in a presidential election in July.
    Hani al-Masri, a candidate on the new slate, said the aim of Qudwa and "brother and leader" Barghouti was "to bring about the change that the Palestinian people need."
    Fatah internal divisions were a key factor in the party's loss to its Islamist rival, Hamas, in the last round of parliamentary elections in 2006.
    That surprise defeat led to a bitter power struggle culminating in a civil war that divided the occupied Palestinian territories, leaving Hamas in control of Gaza and Fatah with its power base in the West Bank.
    Barghouti's move is likely to intensify concern among Fatah's leadership that internal splits will once again lose its seats.
    It was unclear whether Abbas would punish Barghouti, a former West Bank Fatah official and parliamentarian who is serving life imprisonment in Israel after being convicted of orchestrating deadly attacks against Israelis, which he denied.
    Qudwa has already been expelled from Fatah, the nationalist faction that has long dominated the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
    But Barghouti represents a much more serious challenge to Abbas, who has not faced an election for more than 15 years and whose Palestinian Authority is frequently accused of nepotism, corruption, and inefficiency.
    In an opinion poll this month 28% of Palestinians said they would vote for a Barghouti-led list compared to 22% for one backed by Abbas, according to the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. The same poll showed 38% support for Fatah; 22% for Hamas and 29% not expressing a preference.
    "It will disrupt and confuse the list of the mainstream Fatah movement," said Gaza-based political analyst Talal Okal.
    "The Fatah Central Committee may find itself faced with serious decisions, such as whether to expel Barghouti as they did with Qudwa.
    (Production: Mohammad Abu Ganeyeh, Mohammed Shana, Fadi Shana, Mohammed Salem, Arafat Barbakh, Bassam Masoud, Ismael Khader, Suheir Sheikh, Mustafa abu Ganeyeh)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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