Fatah fails to gain hoped- for support over Hamas in vote

RAMALLAH, West Bank— Palestinians voted for local councils in dozens ofWest Bank towns Saturday, but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatahmovement didn’t get the sweeping endorsement they hoped for— even as archrival Hamas boycotted the vote.

Turnout was just under 55 percent, reflecting voter apathy, and in several key towns, Fatah renegades won more council seats than candidates endorsed by Abbas’ party, election officials said.

Chance of talks slim

The toxic rivalry between Fatah and the Islamicmilitant Hamas also loomed large over the first Palestinian ballot in six years. The political rift, which broke open after Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas in 2007, made it unlikely that Saturday’s vote will be followed anytime soon by overdue elections for parliament and president.

Hamas prevented voting in the Gaza Strip and boycotted the contest in theWest Bank, arguing that elections can only be held once the two groups reconcile. “We ask to stop this disgrace,” said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, dismissing Saturday’s vote as meaningless.

Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, countered that “Hamas cannot have a veto on democracy.”

The election was held at a time when Abbas’ Palestinian Authority faces a slew of difficulties.

It is mired in a chronic cash crisis and has struggled to cover the government payroll.

Efforts to heal the Palestinian split have failed. And prospects are virtually nil for resuming meaningful talks with Israel on setting up a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, the territories Israel captured in 1967.

Some 505,000 voters were eligible to choose new councils in 93 towns and villages in theWest Bank, picking from lists of candidates rather than individuals. In 179 communities, residents reached power- sharing deals, many brokered by clan leaders, and decided to forgo elections. In another 82 villages, there were no candidates.

Victory in Hebron

With nearly all of the votes counted, the official Fatah list won 10 out of 15 seats in theWest Bank’s largest city, Hebron, election officials said, while Fatah renegades did better in the cities of Nablus and Ramallah.

Some Palestinians saw no point in voting. “Would these elections solve our problems? Of course not,” saidMohammed Nasser, a 25- year- old accountant in Ramallah.