[Mb-civic] Hamas Makes Strong Showing in Vote - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Hamas Makes Strong Showing in Vote
Exit Poll Shows Party Winning Near-Parity With Fatah in Palestinian Assembly

By Scott Wilson
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, January 26, 2006; A01

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Jan. 25 -- Hamas won a large share of the vote 
Wednesday as Palestinians selected their first new parliament in a 
decade, but appeared to fall short of deposing the governing Fatah 
movement as the leading party in the legislature, according to an exit 
poll conducted in coordination with the Palestinian election commission.

The poll showed that neither Fatah nor Hamas achieved a majority in the 
132-seat legislature, meaning that the next Palestinian cabinet will be 
made up of a coalition of parties. But by gaining near-parity with Fatah 
in the parliament, Hamas -- formally known as the Islamic Resistance 
Movement -- will have a major role in the Palestinian Authority and 
complicate efforts to revive a dormant U.S.-backed peace plan that runs 
counter to the party's campaign platform in key respects.

The poll, conducted by Bir Zeit University, projected Fatah winning 63 
seats and Hamas 58 seats, leaving the Popular Front for the Liberation 
of Palestine and an assortment of leftist and independent parties far 
behind.

A second poll, by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, 
also conducted in coordination with the election commission, showed 
Fatah winning 58 seats to Hamas's 53. But the poll said that at least 
eight seats remained too close to call. Official results were expected 
Thursday.

"We knew that Hamas had this strength," said Ghassan Khatib, the 
Palestinian Authority's planning minister, who does not belong to either 
party. "Having them inside the council, abiding by its laws and 
regulations, hopefully will be better than having them outside. Now 
competition will be based on legal politics, rather than outside the law 
in the streets."

Election officials and observers reported no serious problems from 
either Israeli security measures or Palestinian factional rivalry that 
had threatened to disrupt voting in several cities in the West Bank and 
Gaza Strip. The officials said 77 percent of the 1.3 million registered 
Palestinian voters cast ballots on a brisk day, far surpassing the 
turnout in last year's presidential race.

In an initial assessment, a member of one international observer mission 
described the voting as "a generally smooth process with only sporadic 
violence and a robust turnout." The observer from the National 
Democratic Institute/Carter Center delegation, who declined to be named 
because of the preliminary nature of his evaluation, said his team had 
received only isolated reports of problems with voting materials.

The only apparent violation, the observer said, was the active 
campaigning that occurred throughout the day despite a Palestinian 
election law that requires campaigning to end 24 hours before the start 
of voting. But because all parties appeared to be violating the rule, 
the observer said, "at this point it doesn't appear to be a serious 
impediment to the election."

The atmosphere was celebratory here in Ramallah, where cars bearing the 
green banners of Hamas or the black-and-white kaffiyehs of Fatah jammed 
the streets. Each party appeared to have well-organized efforts to 
ensure its supporters made it to the polls.

The last parliamentary voting, in 1996, led to a Fatah-dominated 
legislature, which has now been expanded by 50 percent. Mahmoud Abbas, 
the president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of Fatah, 
postponed the elections in July to secure an election law more favorable 
to his party.

At the El Bireh Girls Secondary School, Hamas supporters set up a card 
table with a bound voter-registration list and laptop computer loaded 
with a database of all voters and their assigned polling stations. Hamas 
activists said they were helping anyone who had questions, not just 
those who supported their movement.

"I saw Hamas closer to the people, closer to the feelings and problems 
of the people," said Hassan Hamudah, 44, a Hamas supporter who works for 
the Palestinian Water Authority. "They are honest men. The others have 
made many promises, but we have only seen corruption."

Hamas has built its popularity over the years through patient political 
organizing, charity work and an unyielding position regarding Israel. 
The party's charter calls for Israel's destruction, and Hamas's armed 
wing has carried out numerous deadly attacks on Israeli civilians, 
police and soldiers.

The secular Fatah movement is suffering from generational divisions and 
a reputation for corrupt, ineffective government.

Abbas, who has threatened to resign as president if he is unable to 
carry out his program after the elections, will now appoint a prime 
minister who must form a cabinet approved by the parliament. Although it 
is theoretically possible that Hamas could form the next government, it 
is expected that Fatah would be invited to do so and join with the 
nationalist and leftist parties to forge a parliamentary majority.

As the main faction in the Palestine Liberation Organization, Fatah 
joined with Israel to endorse the 1993 Oslo accords and the U.S.-backed 
peace plan known as the "road map," signed in 2003. The plan has been 
frozen because of the Palestinian uprising, but each side has pledged to 
return to its phased framework for creation of an independent 
Palestinian state.

Hamas, on the other hand, has pledged to maintain its military wing, 
which Israel says must be dismantled before new peace talks take place 
under the road map. It is unclear how much influence Hamas could exert 
over a future peace process since it is not a member of the PLO, 
although its strong showing could hasten talks to bring the group inside 
the organization.

Hamas supporters say the party, which Israel, the United States and 
Europe classify as a terrorist organization, will concentrate on 
political and educational reform before moving on to issues of peace and 
diplomacy. Israeli and U.S. officials have warned that its presence in 
government could undermine diplomatic initiatives and imperil foreign aid.

President Bush, in an interview Wednesday with the Wall Street Journal, 
lauded the democratic trend that produced the Palestinian elections but 
said Hamas would not be a suitable partner for diplomacy until it 
renounced its call for the destruction of Israel.

"A political party, in order to be viable, is one that professes peace, 
in my judgment, in order that it will keep the peace," Bush said. "And 
so you're getting a sense of how I'm going to deal with Hamas if they 
end up in positions of responsibility. And the answer is: Not until you 
renounce your desire to destroy Israel will we deal with you."

In a school adjacent to the al-Amari refugee camp, Ahmad Safi not only 
cast his vote for Fatah but draped the movement's black-and-white 
kaffiyeh across his shoulders against the cold.

"Historically, this is the movement that has given the most to the 
Palestinian cause," said Safi, 42, who works for the Fatah-run Interior 
Ministry and spent a dozen years in Israeli prisons.

Cars decked with banners and posters of Hamas green, Fatah yellow and 
the red of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine clogged the 
street in front of him. Many of the parties rented collective taxis to 
ferry their supporters to the polls.

"They are secular and democratic," he said of Fatah. "The proof of this 
is that we are now in pluralistic elections."

The Israeli police presence was heavy in Arab East Jerusalem, where 
roughly 6,000 of the 120,000 Palestinians eligible to vote in the city 
were expected to cast ballots. Israel's acting prime minister, Ehud 
Olmert, agreed to allow voting to proceed in Jerusalem, which both 
Israelis and Palestinians claim as their capital, but prohibited the 
participation of Hamas.

Palestinian election officials extended voting in East Jerusalem for two 
hours, saying long lines caused by Israeli security measures prevented 
many from casting ballots on time.

In a statement issued after polls closed, Hamas officials accused Fatah 
of rigging the vote in the city.

At the post office on Salahudeen Street near the Old City's Damascus 
Gate, members of the governing party's youth movement chanted "Your 
blood is Fatah" from the steps and passed out lists with the names of 
the party's local and national candidates.

"It's good that all factions are participating in this," said Omar 
Bazian, 56, a Fatah supporter from the Old City. "Never mind losing some 
power -- this is a vote for the future."

On the other side of the separation barrier erected by the Israeli 
government, a cluster of Hamas flags flew from the dome of a mosque 
along the wide, worn avenue into the West Bank town of Abu Dis. The 
24-foot-high wall, sealing what was once the main road from Jerusalem to 
Jericho, is covered with candidate posters and graffiti, including "This 
Wall Must Fall" in English.

"We're telling people Islam is the solution," said Radi Johar, 29, who 
was passing out Hamas candidate pamphlets in the dirt street outside a 
crowded polling station. "We are victorious, whether we win or not, 
since we are raising the flag of Islam."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/25/AR2006012500353.html
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