The Fatah movement of Mahmoud Abbas, emerges as the winner in local
elections, but the Islamic faction Hamas also makes a strong showing.
The rivals are headed for even more important showdowns at the ballot
box this summer. The results suggested that Fatah, which has dominated
Palestinian politics for decades, and Abbas remain on top for now. But
the voting also indicated that Hamas had transformed itself from a
movement popular on the streets into a well-organised political
operation. While the two groups and election officials offered slightly
different figures, unofficial results indicated that Fatah won at least
45 of the 84 municipalities that voted in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip on May 5. Hamas won at least 23 municipalities, including
convincing victories in the three largest towns that were at stake. In
the remaining 16 municipalities, smaller parties or independents got the
largest number of votes, and in some cases there was no clear winner.
"We expected more", Qadoura Fares, a leading Fatah official,
told Israel radio. Mahmoud Zahar, a top Hamas leader, said he was
pleased. "People voted for the Islamic program, the program of
resistance, of change and reform", he said at a news conference in
Gaza City. The Palestinians have held a presidential election and three
rounds of local elections since December. Hamas boycotted the
presidential vote, while the previous two rounds of municipal elections
involved a limited number of small communities. Therefore, May 5 voting
was considered the best barometer to date of the relative electoral
strengths of Fatah, a secular, nationalist movement, and Hamas, which
seeks an Islamic state. The next round of voting is just two months
away. Palestinians plan parliamentary elections in July, and the final
round of local elections, which includes the largest cities, is expected
in either July or August. Abbas says he wants Hamas to call off its
attacks against Israel and become a political party. Hamas has agreed to
a temporary truce, and its decision to enter electoral politics suggests
it might place less emphasis on fighting Israel. But Hamas still calls
for the destruction of Israel and has always rejected negotiations with
the Jewish state. The group could use its emerging political clout to
oppose any negotiations between Abbas's government and Israel.
Under Yasser Arafat, who founded Fatah, the movement faced only token
political opposition from other Palestinian factions. But since
Arafat's death last November, the Palestinian political scene is
being rapidly reshaped. Abbas is calling for a restoration of law and
order and an end to corruption, but has made only limited progress.
Hamas has gained support among Palestinians in recent years with its
suicide bombing campaign against Israel. The group has also won backing
for running schools and health clinics, and providing food and money to
Palestinians in need. Zahar was asked whether Hamas's control of
municipalities in Gaza might lead Israel to reconsider its planned
withdrawal from Gaza this summer. At a news conference he said: If they
want to go, let them go. If they stay, we will continue our resistance.
We respect the truce, but who said that we are throwing away our
weapons"?. Zahar also said that the way the election results were
presented did not fully reflect Hamas's success at the polls. In
the West Bank, where Israel still carries out arrest raids, some Hamas
candidates ran as independents, fearing they could be targeted by Israel
if they were openly linked to Hamas. As a result, Zahar said, Hamas won
more seats and control of more municipalities than it had been given
credit for. According to Hamas's calculations, the faction won 34
places, he said. In addition, Hamas captured the biggest towns, which
suggested it would do well in the next round of local elections, which
will include the cities. In the smaller communities, voters are
sometimes swayed by family and clan loyalties, rather than by party
affiliation. Hamas won all 15 town council seats in Qalqiliya in the
West Bank and captured 11 of 15 seats in Rafah, the scene of frequent
fighting in southern Gaza, Zahar said, while sweeping the seats in the
Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza.
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