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.