(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Mahmoud Abbas would win a new election in the Palestinian territories, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 54 per cent of respondents would vote for the current Palestinian Authority president and leader of Fatah in the next ballot, up four points since March.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – Mahmoud Abbas would win a new election in the Palestinian territories, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 54 per cent of respondents would vote for the current Palestinian Authority president and leader of Fatah in the next ballot, up four points since March.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is second with 39 per cent.
Abbas won the January 2005 presidential ballot in the Palestinian Territories with 62.32 per cent of all cast ballots. In January 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian Legislative Council election, securing 74 of the 112 seats at stake. Haniyeh officially took over as prime minister in March. The Israeli government believes Hamas is directly responsible for the deaths of 377 citizens in a variety of attacks, which include dozens of suicide bombings.
In February 2007, Hamas and Fatah leaders reached an accord which set the guidelines for a power-sharing Palestinian administration, headed by Hamas. In June, amid a wave of violent clashes between Hamas and Fatah factions, Hamas militants seized control of Gaza. Abbas issued a decree to form a 12-member emergency government based in the West Bank and expelled Hamas from the administration. Fatah member Salam Fayyad was appointed as prime minister by Abbas.
Abbas has extended his tenure—which was supposed to end in January 2009—indefinitely. The extension is part of an Egypt-sponsored plan to foster reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. Abbas has said he does not intend to seek a new term in office in the next presidential election, which has not yet been scheduled.
On Jun. 20, Abbas revealed his desire to visit Gaza for the first time since the Hamas takeover, saying, "I ask myself this question 100 times every day; I have always thought of going there."
Polling Data
If a presidential election were to take place today, and Mahmoud Abbas were nominated by Fatah and Ismail Haniyeh were nominated by Hamas, who would you vote for?
|
|
Jun. 2010
|
Mar. 2010
|
Dec. 2009
|
|
Mahmoud Abbas
|
54%
|
50%
|
54%
|
|
Ismail Haniyeh
|
39%
|
40%
|
38%
|
|
Not sure
|
7%
|
10%
|
8%
|
Source: Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research
Methodology: Face-to-face interviews with 1,200 Palestinian adults in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, conducted from Jun. 10 to Jun. 13, 2010. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
