Mahmud Abbas, the PLO chairman, celebrates with supporters after proclaiming victory in the Palestinian presidential election. Abbas dedicated the result to his late predecessor Yasser Arafat, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Jan. 9. Abbas won 66 percent of the votes, leading his nearest rival by some 46 percent. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Mahmoud Abbas is set to win the chairmanship of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in the Sunday's elections as several exit polls gave him a landslide victory.

Addressing a rally of his Fatah supporters, Abbas has proclaimed victory in the election, the first since 1996.

"We offer this victory to the soul of brother Yasser Arafat," Abbas told the jubilant rally. "We also dedicate it to all the martyrs and wounded and prisoners behind (Israeli) bars," he said.

Fatah militants celebrate Mahmoud Abbas's victory in the in the Palestinian presidential elections, in the Gaza city, late at the night of Jan. 9. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Fatah militants fired into the air to celebrate Abbas's victory in the Gaza city. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

He also told the crowd that he was facing hard tasks ahead. "There are difficult missions waiting for us on how to build our state and how to find dignity to our people and our militants," said Abbas.

Abbas, 69, also known as Abu Mazen, is the candidate of the mainstream Fatah movement. As the chief of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee, he is regarded widely as a relatively moderate member among the Palestinian leadership.

According to the exit polls conducted by the Palestinian Centerfor Policy and Survey Research, Abbas won 66.3 percent of the votes, while his main competitor, independent candidate Mustafa Barghouti, netted 19.7 percent.

Meanwhile, another poll, conducted by Bir Zeit University, gave66.2 percent to Abbas and 18 percent to Barghouti.

The voting, started at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and closed at 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), two hours behind schedule, attracted about 65 percent of the 1.8 million eligible voters in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem to choose a successor to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who died at a French hospital on Nov. 11 last year.

Seven candidates raced for the post, and the final result is expected to be announced by the Central Election Committee on Monday.

Shortly after the polling stations closed, thousands of Abbas' supporters took to the streets, waving Palestinian national flags and pictures of Arafat and Abbas.