JERUSALEM – Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia promised Saturday that Palestinians would hold a general election for a new president within 60 days, as mandated by law.
“The presidential elections will be held before Jan. 9,” said Qureia, speaking to reporters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, where longtime leader Yasser Arafat was buried on Friday at a funeral thronged by a chaotic crush of mourners.
Qureia added that the precise date for balloting would be set in a meeting today by the Palestinian leadership.
Marwan Barghouti, a leader of the Palestinian uprising jailed by Israel but perhaps the strongest candidate to oust Arafat’s old guard of politicians, plans to run in upcoming presidential elections, a person close to Barghouti said Saturday.
Many believe the popular Barghouti, who supports violence but says he wants peace with Israel, is the only leader capable of unifying squabbling Palestinian factions, reining in militants and possibly restarting peace efforts with Israel.
Israel, however, is determined not to free Barghouti, who is serving multiple life terms for his role in the killings of four Israelis and a Greek monk.
“He will remain in prison for the rest of his life, because he’s a murderer, because he’s responsible for the killing of so many” innocent people, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Thursday.
Barghouti also could represent the best hope for Arafat’s Fatah movement to beat down a challenge by the increasingly popular hardline Islamic militant group Hamas, which is considering running a candidate.
After Arafat fell seriously ill and was airlifted to a French hospital on Oct. 29, the Palestinians pledged to act in accordance with their Basic Law, the equivalent of a constitution. The provision calls for the head of the Palestinian parliament to act as president for a maximum of two months.
The holder of that position, Rawi Fattouh, was sworn in as acting president within hours of Arafat’s death. Fattouh is a little-known figure whose influence is unlikely to outlive the mandated period as a figurehead leader.
Close Arafat associates, chief among them the former prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, have emerged as the core of the Palestinians’ interim leadership. Qureia has been tapped to run day-to-day affairs of the Palestinian Authority, the quasi-government body over which Arafat presided.
Associated Press
Palestinian security guards lay a wreath at the grave of Yasser Arafat on Saturday in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
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