Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Philadelphia)
Posted on 01/25/2006 10:27:59 AM PST by West Coast Conservative
Fatah emerged as the biggest party in Palestinian parliament elections, but Hamas came in as a strong second, a Palestinian polling official said Wednesday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Fatah won more than 42 percent of the vote and Hamas more than 34 percent, based on exit polling of 6,500 voters.
The offiical declined to give exact figures until the exit poll is published later Wednesday.
Polling stations across the West Bank and Gaza Strip closed on time, at 7 p.m. after 12 hours of voting, the Palestinian Central Election Commission announced.
Security forces closed the gates, but voters still inside the stations were allowed to finish voting, said Ahmed Dweik, a senior official in the commission.
While the overall voter turnout in Wednesday's Palestinian Authority parliamentary elections was over 60 percent, comparatively few of the 6,300 Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem wound up voting.
In other Palestinian areas, residents streamed to the voting booths in large numbers, while the Palestinian Authority maintained its declared state of emergency in the West Bank and Gaza Strip to ensure a smooth and secure election.
After casting his vote, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said he was ready to resume peace talks with Israel, even if Hamas joins his government. "We are partners with the Israelis. They don't have the right to choose their partner. But if they are seeking a Palestinian partner, this partner exists," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at jpost.com ...
Emphasize INITIAL
Now thats a statement worthy of recognition as one of the greatest oxymoron's of all time.
great news, one terrorist group beats another terrorist group in a DEMOCRATIC election.
Have the votes from West Palm Beach been counted yet?
It doesn't matter who wins because they'll just kill each other anyway.
Sorry, I am a bit slow tonight. :^>
Please stop. I just can't takes these jokes any fatah!
Hahahahahah exactly what I thunk
Does anyone know if PA are using the evil Diebold machines?
This would be a good sign.
"Lesser of two evils.
Kind of like asking which better, al-Qaeda or the Baath Party."
Foreign policy in this world usually involves choosing between the lesser of two evils. I think in both the instance you provided and the one in Palestine there is a clear lesser. It is the Baath and Fatah. All may be evil by our standards, but Hamas and al-Qaeda are clearly more fanatical in my opinion. The Baath and al-Qaeda are going extinct so screw them both anyway.
This is not an endorsement of these crazies. It is just an observation. I am hopeful that Hamas lost though because there clearly is a difference.
That's what I thought, too. :-)
Where are the dems to protest the exit polls showing Fatah winning not matching the reality of Hamas's victory?
It must be Diebold! It must be Halliburton! It must be Rove!
Is this good or bad? The choice was Israel hating terrorist or Israel hating terrorist. The Israel hating terroists won and will share power with the other Israel hating terrorists.
The AP must be lying, as usual.
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