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Hamas Rejects Calls for Postponing Palestinian Elections

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 October 2005, 15:00 CDT

Text of report in English by pro-Hamas Palestinian Information Centre website on 5 October

Gaza: Mushir al-Masri, Hamas's Gaza Strip media spokesman, has strongly rejected calls within the PNA [Palestinian National Authority] for postponing the forthcoming Palestinian legislative elections, slated for next January, for alleged security reasons.

Al-Masri stressed, in press statements to media, the importance of holding the parliamentary polls as scheduled, dismissing calls for adjourning those elections as an attempt to evade the electoral process which is considered a national obligation.

"We in the Hamas movement believe that getting rid of the stalemate the Palestinian people are encountering would be made possible through political partnership, as it was proved during the past 10 years that working through one political colour won't serve the Palestinian question. Therefore, all should work within one team so as to serve the Palestinian people's interests," he said.

The Hamas's spokesman finally urged the PNA to hold the PLC [Palestinian Legislative Council] elections on time for the sake of establishing the democratic experience and enhancing political partnership amongst the Palestinian political mosaic.

For his part, Hatim Abd-al-Qadir, a Palestinian lawmaker and member of Fatah Central Committee, dismissed some [of] the calls for indefinitely deferring the legislative elections as "incorrect". The PNA would lose its credibility and confidence before the Palestinians in the event the PLC polls were put off.

The Fatah leader urged the PNA to create a favourable atmosphere for holding those elections on time so that the Palestinian factions could effectively participate in the decision-making process.

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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