Abbas claims Palestinian victory

[Violet_Crumble]

Mahmoud Abbas declared that he had won a Palestinian presidential election on Sunday and dedicated his victory to Yasser Arafat, the iconic leader he is replacing.

"We offer this victory to the soul of the brother martyr Yasser Arafat and to all Palestinians...," Abbas, who aims to talk peace with Israel, told a jubilant rally of his Fatah nationalist party in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Early indications are that Abbas has won a landslide victory in the election to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian president with a strong mandate to talk peace with Israel and end corruption, exit polls showed.

Waving flags and honking horns, Abbas supporters celebrated a victory with some 65 percent of the vote -- as high as any had predicted. Turnout looked healthy despite a boycott by Islamist militants opposed to Abbas's call for a truce.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Middle-East-Crisis/Abbas-claims-Palestinian-victory/2005/01/09/1105205979837.html

[King Mongo]

1. Were the elections fair?

What does the EU and US say about fair elections?

[Jack Rabbit]

2. BBC report would indicate so . . .

EDIT: typo

From the BBC Online
Dated Sunday January 9 20:43 GMT (12:43 pm PST)

Landmark Palestinian poll closes

Voting has ended in the Palestinian election to choose a successor to the late leader Yasser Arafat.

Analysts say he needs a wide margin of victory - and high turnout - to push his agenda of peace talks and an end to the armed Palestinian uprising.

Polling closed at 1900 GMT, two hours later than scheduled after voting difficulties forced an extension.

One exit poll by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research gave Mr Abbas 66% of the vote and his closest challenger, Mustafa Barghouti, 19.7%.

The article reports some attempts by militants to disrupt the elections, but otherwise only minor problems.

[King Mongo]

3. Looks good

Looks like a good and fair election, I'm happy! :)

However, given the situation with Israel in East Jerusalem, maybe Palestinians should protest for the elections to be held again so that everyone can vote?

[Jack Rabbit]

4. The BBC report has been replaced by one about claiming victory

From the BBC Online
Dated Sunday Juanury 9 21:37 GMT (1:37 pm PST)

Abbas claims Palestinian poll win

Mahmoud Abbas has claimed victory in the Palestinian presidential election, dedicating his win to late leader Yasser Arafat.

Exit polls suggest Mr Abbas won around two-thirds of the vote but an official result is not likely until Monday.

The Central Elections Commission said turnout was at least 66%.

Read more.