The ruling Palestinian party, Fatah, failed to hold scheduled primaries Friday, blaming infighting and extortion attempts by militants. While the delay was not expected to affect the timing of parliamentary elections Jan. 25, it could further alienate a young guard hoping to bring new blood into the party. Fatah was trying to unite to face the strong challenge of the Islamic Hamas group at the polls.Ahmed Diek, coordinator of the Fatah elections committee, said the 11 voting districts in the West Bank and five in the Gaza Strip still have until Nov. 25 to hold primaries. Party bosses will appoint candidates for districts that do not hold primaries by then, he said. Fatah legislator Qadoura Fares, a member of the young guard, said he fears Fatah leaders, representing the older generation, might try to keep out newcomers and thus force them to run as independents.
The primaries were postponed in part because armed Fatah groups were threatening to disrupt the polls unless they were paid off with plum civil service jobs, Diek said. "Some of them are trying to blackmail the Fatah leadership, demanding Palestinian Authority jobs in return for allowing elections to be held," he said. "Others have reservations about the way Fatah is organizing elections."
Diek said 465 candidates had registered in the West Bank, to run for the territory's 80 parliamentary seats. Registration continued in Gaza. The town of Jericho will hold its primaries Monday, he said, while other West Bank districts are expected to vote on Nov. 25, Diek said. He said political problems and lawlessness were expected to prevent the West Bank towns of Qalqiliya and Tulkarem and the Gaza districts from meeting the deadline.