Palestinians Sunday decided to hold presidential elections on Jan. 9 to
succeed late Yasser Arafat, official sources said Sunday.
The decision was made by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the
mainstream Fatah movement, the sources added.
Chaired by Mahmoud Abbas who succeeded Arafat as PLO's chairman, a joint
meeting of the PLO Executive Committee and Fatah Central Council was held at the
Muqata building, the headquarters where Arafat was buried.
This decision came one day after Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei promised that the
presidential elections to formally choose a leader to succeed the late Arafat
would be held within 60 days in the Palestinian territories.
Under the Palestinian basic law, presidential elections must be held within
60 days following Arafat's death.
The Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) Speaker Rawhi Fattouh was named to
be the interim Palestinian National Authority (PNA) president before the
elections were held.
