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Abbas Leads Haniyeh in Palestinian Ballot
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah could defeat Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas in a new election, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 50 per cent of respondents would vote for Abbas, while 40 per cent would support Haniyeh.
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 recently extended his tenure—which was supposed to end in January 2009—until 2010. 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 is tentatively scheduled for Jun. 28.
Earlier this month, Abbas blamed Iran for hampering unity talks, saying, "Iran doesn’t want Hamas to sign the Cairo reconciliation document. (...) The Palestinians should be free from Iranian tutelage."
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?
|
Mar. 2010 |
Dec. 2009 |
Aug. 2009 |
|
|
Mahmoud Abbas |
50% |
54% |
52% |
|
Ismail Haniyeh |
40% |
38% |
38% |
|
Not sure |
10% |
8% |
9% |
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 Mar. 4 to Mar. 6, 2010. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
