President Mahmoud Abbas' ruling Fatah movement led in Palestinian municipal elections yesterday despite a strong showing by Hamas, preliminary results showed. But the hard-line Islamic group disputed the figures and said it was not ready to concede defeat.| "Youse can't defeat us! We got guns!" "Harrr! We got guns, too!" |
Fatah supporters fired guns into the air in Gaza's border town of Rafah to celebrate the results, which are seen as a sign of confidence in political and security reforms by Abbas. "The preliminary results assure the Palestinian people that Fatah continues to be the strongest and the most influential faction," said Jibril Rajoub, a security adviser to Abbas.
Hamas, which boycotted previous elections, posed an electoral challenge to Fatah after gaining street credibility for its fight against Israel, religious piety and charitable services. Fatah feared it could get hammered by Hamas in upcoming parliamentary elections, which a senior official said could be delayed by disputes over election law changes some feel may aid Hamas.
The election had a festive air as the parties erected tents and greeted arriving voters, but the mood deteriorated after polls closed with supporters of both sides claiming victory. About 20 masked men stormed two polling stations in the West Bank village of Attarah and destroyed three ballot boxes as votes were being tallied, an election official said.
More than 2,500 candidates vied for the council seats and turnout was high — 80 percent in Gaza and 70 percent in the West Bank, officials said. Some 400,000 Palestinians were eligible to vote. Hamas had trounced Fatah in an earlier round of municipal voting in Gaza in January and made a strong showing in a similar West Bank poll in December, although Fatah got more seats. A final round is planned for later this year.