Charges of election fraud in its primaries raise again the question of whether Fatah can continue to dominate Palestinian politics, reports Khaled Amayreh in the West Bank Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has suspended the internal elections -- or primaries -- of his ruling Fatah Party after it became clear that the polls were fraught with widespread and serious acts of forgery, falsification and other fraudulent practices. A senior Fatah leader, Ahmed Al-Dik, told reporters in Ramallah on Tuesday that Abbas had ordered an immediate suspension of the entire election process throughout the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Al-Dik didn't give any details other than saying that Abbas, once back from the Euromed meeting in Barcelona, would preside over a meeting of top Fatah leaders, most likely the movement's Revolutionary Council, and decide what to do next. The decision followed cancellation of the primaries in Gaza on Monday after gunmen affiliated with Fatah stormed polling stations in several areas, forcing the termination of voting. The gunmen, who reportedly included members of the PA security forces, argued that their "intervention" was necessitated by rampant elections fraud. In some areas, like Abasan and Bani Suheila, fist fighting erupted between gunmen with different loyalties, followed by shots fired into the air. Fatah officials said in a statement that the votes cast on Monday in several polling stations in Gaza City and Khan Yunis would be nullified. "The Fatah Supreme Election Committee has decided to freeze the elections due to serious violations that took place during the voting process today," read a statement issued following the meeting. Fatah was supposed to have held internal elections several weeks ago to choose candidates who would contest the upcoming legislative elections, slated to take place on 25 January. However, a bitter and lingering power struggle between the mainly "homegrown" youthful leadership, represented by people like imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, and the movement's veteran leadership, principally those who returned from abroad following the conclusion of the Oslo Agreement, continued to impede the organisation of smooth and fraudulent-free elections. Last week, primaries were held in Ramallah, Nablus, Bethlehem and several other towns in the West Bank. In Ramallah, Barghouti and his allies won up to 95 per cent of the votes, mainly at the expense of old-guard candidates. Predictably, the results shocked the old guard, as it effectively meant that the political careers of many were coming to an end. Many of these figures had gained stature within Fatah and the PA not so much because of their exceptional sacrifices and exemplary service to the enduring Palestinian cause, but rather thanks to their proximity to late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. But while the elections in Ramallah went relatively smoothly, the polling in Nablus witnessed "conspicuous acts of fraud", using the words of Dalal Salama, a Palestinian Legislative Council member from Nablus. In a letter to Abbas, Salama pointed out that in many cases there was a marked difference between the number of ballots cast into the ballot boxes and the actual number of voters in the respective electoral areas. Salama added that "hundreds of specific ballots" were later added in one instalment, apparently to boost the chances of a specific candidate. The Fatah law-maker described the voting process in Nablus as "lacking credibility and immensely unrepresentative of Fatah's rank and file". Salama's remarks were corroborated by at least 30 losing Fatah candidates who disputed the fairness and transparency of the elections. The objections eventually forced the Fatah Higher Committee to postpone the publication of the winners. Reacting to the fiasco in Gaza and the conspicuous absence of transparency in much of the West Bank (elections were not held in some towns, like Hebron, due to internal problems), the PA leadership reportedly warned that it would appoint candidates if Fatah didn't put its house in order sooner or later. It is uncertain if the PA is being candid in this warning or is bluffing. Imposing "candidates" might well be a cure that is worse than the malady. Moreover, it would actually underscore Fatah's chronic inability to extricate itself from a parochial centralism that could speed up the redundancy of a movement that is yet to grasp the difference between a revolutionary organisation with virtually no accountability to anybody and a political party that is directly responsible, accountable and answerable to the masses. In truth, Fatah is bound to face problems irrespective of what measures Abbas will employ to overcome the latest crisis. On the one hand, the imposition of candidates from "above", as had always been the case during Yasser Arafat's era, would vindicate Hamas's line in the eyes of many Palestinians. On the other hand, the primaries are also likely to leave just as many disenchanted Fatah aspirants who would decide to run as independents, thus contributing to the "scattering" of the Fatah vote, which would eventually help Hamas, a far more homogenous and better organised movement. This week in Gaza as many as 326 Fatah candidates vied for 48 slots. In the West Bank, aspirants are nearly as many in number as the population. This underscores the immense difficulty of pleasing and appeasing an army of parliamentarian hopefuls whose democratic credentials are still quite underdeveloped. According to some Fatah insiders, Abbas might very well resort to "holding the stick at the middle"; appointing candidates in areas where the local Fatah leadership fails to succeed in "the test of democracy" while endorsing the candidacy of those elected in fraud-free elections. Regardless, the ongoing crisis within Fatah is bound to undermine the movement's image for at least some time to come as the ordinary Palestinian man and woman in the street will be prompted to wonder how Fatah could be entrusted to organise national elections, with Hamas as the main rival, when it couldn't honestly conduct limited internal elections. To be sure, this question is legitimate and very timely. Moreover, Fatah would have to clean up its house and re-convince the Palestinian masses that what happened was an anomaly that will not be repeated on 25 January when the parliamentary elections are due to take place. Some among the more pessimistic pundits here even suggest that Abbas might postpone the elections for a second time. This may well, however, be a true recipe for political suicide.
