(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many residents of the Gaza Strip and West Bank would elect an incarcerated member of Fatah in the next presidential election, according to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. 51.1 per cent of respondents would vote for Marwan Barghouti, while 46.7 per cent would support Hamas member and current prime minister Ismail Haniyeh.

In a separate contest, current Palestinian Authority president and Fatah member Mahmoud Abbas holds a 1.1-point edge over Haniyeh.

Abbas won the January 2005 presidential ballot 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.

On Feb. 8 in Saudi Arabia, Hamas and Fatah leaders reached an accord which set the guidelines for a power-sharing Palestinian administration, headed by Hamas, which would "respect" past peace agreements with Israel. The new coalition government was sworn in on Mar. 17.

Barghouti is a former leader of Fatah, who was convicted in an Israeli court and sentenced to five life terms in prison for his alleged involvement in deadly attacks by the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Many Palestinians believe the charges against Barghouti were made up, and he is considered a political prisoner.

In June 2006, Israel launched a military operation in response to a joint raid carried out by Palestinian militants on a military post outside of the Gaza Strip, in which two Israeli soldiers were killed, and one more, Gilad Shalit, was captured. The Hamas-led Palestinian government has demanded the release of Barghouti and other Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit.

Polling Data

If new presidential elections are to take place today, and Mahmoud Abbas was nominated by Fatah and Ismail Haniyeh was nominated by Hamas, whom would you vote for?

And if the competition was between Marwan Barghouti representing Fatah and Ismail Haniyeh representing Hamas, whom would you vote for?

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