Arafat to stand for election, says aide

Reuters | 6/26/02 | Mike Collett-White

[kattracks]

LONDON, June 26 (Reuters) - Palestinian President Yasser 
Arafat will stand in elections scheduled for January next year, 
a Palestinian cabinet member said on Wednesday. 
    "My information is that he (Arafat) will run for election 
again," Palestinian minister Nabil Shaath told a London news 
briefing. 
    He said the Islamic militant group Hamas could make a strong 
showing were legislative elections to be held in the current 
political climate. A Palestinian official said on Wednesday that 
presidential and legislative balloting would take place between 
January 10 and 20. 
    "Hamas will probably make a significant showing and might 
even take over a majority of the parliament. Their threat to the 
presidency is less," he said. 
 Shaath welcomed some points of U.S. President George Bush's 
Middle East address on Monday, but feared a pro-Israeli tone 
would lead to further hardening of views among Palestinian 
extremists. 

26 JUN 2002 10:38:35 Arafat to stand for election, says aide

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[yendu bwam]

I'm sure he'll get elected - JUST like Saddam Hussein, Leonid Brezhnev, Idi Amin and Kim Il-Jong did.

[traditionalist]

From what I have read and heard, it is highly probable that he would get elected even in a clean election.

It seems as if the Bush administration has committed itself to democratizing PLA. I have faith that Bush will take measures, such as providing poll supervision, to make sure the elections are clean, and I think it is highly probably that the Palestinians will welcome such things.