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Palestinians head to polls in key legislative ballot
26/1/2006 7:03

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A Palestinian worker unloads ballot boxes for the Palestinian Legislative Election at the Central Elections stores in Khan Younis camp in southern Gaza Strip January 24. (Reuters)

The 34-year-old Fayeq Rajjab left his home in the Zaytoon neighborhood in the Gaza City on early Wednesday and joined a queue of people outside a polling station set up in the Zaytoon elementary school, waiting to cast his vote in the first Palestinian legislative elections in a decade.

"I am very proud today to come to this polling station to cast my ballot and elect new parliament members," he said. "It is a historic day for the Palestinian people who have always been eager for democracy."

"The last parliament was elected some 10 years ago. We really need a change and we really need to get out of the situation of chaos, lack of security, and poverty. We want to choose a new leadership to help the people," Rajjab added.

The polling station opened at 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) as scheduled as about 1.43 million Palestinians are expected to head to the polls across the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem to choose a new 132-seat parliament. Electoral officials have expected a high turnout.

When asked which party or faction he had voted for, a beaming Rajjab answered, "Of course, I voted for Hamas. Hamas is my choice and Islam is the solution."

Another Palestinian voter said after casting his ballot in another polling station in the Gaza City that he voted for the dominant Fatah movement, which he praised for leading a historic Palestinian revolution and being capable to strike a settlement of the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Supporters of Fatah and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the two key contenders in Wednesday's ballot, lined up major streets in the Gaza City in the last push to woo voters, causing a traffic jam in downtown.

Wearing trademark green and yellow hats respectively, Hamas and Fatah supporters distributed candidate lists to voters to tell them who to vote for.

But police confiscated the lists, which are seen as an electoral violation.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cast his vote in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Wednesday morning, calling for a smooth and quiet ballot.

Abbas also urged the Palestinians to actively participate in the elections and "practice their sacred rights" of voting.

Abbas' Fatah movement is facing a grave challenge from Hamas, which has gained ground in the run-up to the elections and is widely expected to do well in its first parliamentary bid.

But Palestinian Information Minister Nabil Shaath sounded upbeat that Fatah will achieve a great success.

Shaath made the remarks after he cast his ballot at a polling station in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis.

"Fatah will win to be a strong cabinet," Shaath told reporters, adding that "Hamas will win to be a strong opposition."

Palestinian Prime Minster Ahmed Qurei, who is also a member of Fatah's elite Central Committee, said after voting in Arab East Jerusalem suburb of Abu Dis that Fatah will respect the choice of the Palestinian people in the elections and that Fatah will "stand behind Hamas" if Hamas wins.

Meanwhile, senior Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Ismael Haneya, who heads Hamas list in the elections, said that the group would not lay down arms even if it emerged victor.

Voting centers will close at 7:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) and exit polls are expected to come shortly afterwards.

Voters will choose 66 members of the new 132-seat parliament from 11 party lists and the other 66 from over 400 candidates in local districts.

It is the second Palestinian legislative ballot. The first such voting was held in 1996 and subsequent calls for holding parliamentary elections had not been translated into action due to violence with Israel and stalled peace efforts.

Heavily-armed Palestinian police were deployed across the territories to protect the polling stations and the voting has proceeded smoothly so far.



 Xinhua news