In blow to Abbas, Barghouti to form own list for elections - reports
| Published date | 30 March 2021 |
| Author | KHALED ABU TOAMEH |
| Date | 30 March 2021 |
| Publication title | Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel) |
Sources close to Barghouti, who, in 2004 was sentenced to five consecutive life terms and 40 years for his involvement in three terrorist attacks in Israel that killed five people, is expected to present his electoral list to the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) in the coming hours.
"Barghouti has informed his family and friends of his intention to form his own list for the parliamentary election," the sources told a number of Arab and Palestinian media outlets.
The New Arab website and the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Mayadeen television channel quoted Palestinian sources as confirming that Barghouti has decided to contest the parliamentary election through an independent list.
"Barghouti has instructed his followers to form a separate list that would be presented to the CEC on Wednesday," the sources claimed.
Other sources, however, said that Barghouti has not yet made a final decision regarding his participation in the elections.
A public opinion poll published by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research on March 23 showed that if Barghouti forms his own list, he would win 28% of the vote as opposed to 22% for the official Fatah list. The poll also showed that Barghouti would defeat Abbas in a presidential election.
Abbas and senior Fatah officials have threatened to expel any member of the faction who runs on a separate list.
Recently, Nasser al-Kidwa, a veteran member of the Fatah Central Committee, was expelled from the faction after he announced his intention to form his own list for the parliamentary election, which has been set for May 22.
Kidwa, a nephew of former PLO leader Yasser Arafat, was also fired from his job as chairman of the Yasser Arafat Foundation in Ramallah.
A senior Fatah official told The Jerusalem Post that Barghouti will also be expelled from the faction if he proceeds with his plan to form his own list.
"If true, Barghouti's decision to run on a separate list would be a severe blow to Abbas and the Fatah leadership," a Palestinian political analyst told the Post.
In an attempt to prevent Barghouti from forming his own list, Abbas dispatched senior Fatah official Hussein al-Sheikh to meet with the imprisoned Fatah leader in his prison cell a few weeks ago.
During the meeting, al-Sheikh reportedly tried to persuade Barghouti not to...
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