Middle EastPresident Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah movement appeared to have beaten back a challenge by Hamas Islamic militants in Palestinian municipal elections yesterday, an exit poll showed.
A win would be a major boost for Fatah, which had seen its popularity slip amid corruption allegations while support for Hamas was on the rise. It would also reassure Fatah ahead of a parliamentary vote due in July.
The Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research said Fatah appeared to have won control of six of 14 municipal councils where it conducted exit polls in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The Islamic militant group Hamas won two.
Thursday's poll comes against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire with Israel engineered by Abbas that has raised hopes of reviving Middle East peacemaking following 4½ years of a Palestinian uprising.
Hamas, which boycotted previous polls, posed an electoral challenge to Fatah after gaining street credibility for its fight against Israel, its religious piety, and its charitable services.
Fatah has been concerned it could get hammered by Hamas in July parliament polls, although a senior Palestinian official said that vote could be delayed by disputes within Fatah over election law amendments some feel could benefit Hamas.
"We need more time to prepare," said a senior Fatah official. "There are no guarantees we can win against Hamas." Hamas's West Bank leader, Hassan Youssef, said the group would insist the parliamentary election was held as scheduled.
More than 2,500 candidates vied for seats on 84 municipal councils yesterday and turnout was high, at 80 per cent in Gaza and 70 per cent in the West Bank, officials said. Some 400,000 Palestinians were eligible to vote.
Hamas had trounced Fatah in an earlier round of municipal voting in Gaza in January and made a strong showing in a similar West Bank poll in December, although Fatah got more seats. A final round is planned for later this year.
Before this year, there had been no municipal elections in teeming Gaza since the end of the British Mandate over Palestine in 1948. All current Gaza town officials are Fatah appointees. Analysts expect close races for local government positions as Fatah tried to rebound.