Hamas tops poll forecast
2005-12-26 22:17
Ramallah - One month before Palestinians head to the polls to choose a new parliament, a poll released on Monday indicated the militant group Hamas would earn the greatest number of seats.
The poll, conducted by An-Najah University in the West Bank city of Nablus, showed that if elections were held now, 31% of Palestinians would choose Hamas, 27% would choose the future bloc headed by jailed uprising leader Marwan Barghouti, and only 18% would choose Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah.
The poll surveyed 1 361 people with a margin of error of three percentage points.
The Palestinian parliamentary election are slated to take place on January 25.
Earlier this month, Fatah's disgruntled young guard broke away and presented its own list of candidates under the name "Future."
Eager to bring the young guard back into the fold, Abbas agreed to award top slots to many of the younger activists who had done well in Fatah primaries.
Initially, Abbas had given many of these spots to oldtimers, who will now have to compete in districts, where their re-election is not secured.
A court must still approve the merger, with a decision expected late Monday.
If Fatah reunites with the young guard, the party would likely defeat the Hamas challenge.
- AP