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Hamas narrows gap with Fatah ahead of elections
15/1/2006 15:04

The ruling Palestinian party Fatah will gain 35 percent of the votes in the legislative elections while the hardline Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) will win 31 percent, well-informed Palestinian sources said on Saturday, citing an opinion poll.

The sources said that the opinion poll conducted by Beer Zeit University in the West Bank would be published on Sunday, ten days ahead of the elections on Jan. 25.

The difference between the two parties decreased to a mere four percent from more than 10 percent in the previous opinion polls.

Analysts in survey affairs believed that error in the opinion poll is within two percent.

Hamas, which boycotted the first and only legislative elections in 1996, is widely expected to mount a strong challenge to Fatah led by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.



 Xinhua news