Fadwa Barghouti told reporters that her husband is the most prominent candidate for presidency.

However, she added that "he can't make the decision to run for elections alone because he is a member of the Fatah movement."She said her husband has a clear political plan on the continuation of the Palestinian Intifada (uprising), which erupted in the Palestinian territories in September 2000.She said her husband is making contacts with all Palestinian factions through his lawyers.

Within the coming two weeks, the final decision on whether to run for the elections would be made, she added.

The Palestinians announced Sunday that the presidential elections would be held on Jan. 9, 2005.

Under the Palestinian basic law, the elections should be held within 60 days following the former leader Yasser Arafat's death.The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) speaker Rawhi Fattouh was named as the interim Palestinian National Authority (PNA) President until the elections would choose a new leader to formally succeed Arafat.

Meanwhile, Arafat's mainstream Fatah movement declared on Sunday that it has decided to nominate Mahmoud Abbas, currently succeeding Arafat as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman, as its candidate to run for the elections.