ABBAS
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters):
PALESTINIANS VOTED yesterday in their first parliamentary election in a decade, with Hamas expected to dent Fatah's near-monopoly on power and further complicate any prospects for peacemaking with Israel.
Opinion polls showed President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party with just a slight edge, raising the possibility of Hamas, an Islamist militant group, joining the cabinet for the first time.
Hamas, whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel, has nevertheless largely followed a truce for nearly a year.
It was expected to capitalise on Fatah's image for corruption and mismanagement which the erstwhile guerrilla faction founded by former President Yasser Arafat has gained since the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994.
Amid tight security, Palestinians queued at polling stations across the West Bank and Gaza Strip where they voted after their index fingers were daubed in blue ink to prevent fraud.
Militants under orders to avoid trouble on election day after weeks of armed chaos left their weapons outside.
Casting his ballot in Ramallah, Abbas - who has called the election an important step toward statehood - said voting was proceeding smoothly. "The final decision will be made through the ballot box," he said.
Turnout was heavy, with nearly 60 per cent by late afternoon. Polls close at 7 p.m. (1700 GMT).
Israel has said future peace-making would be in doubt if Hamas, responsible for many suicide bombings during a five-year-old uprising, took a role in government. Washington, which lists Hamas as a terrorist group, has also voiced concern.
