Palestinians ushered in a new leader on a rare day of celebration, writes Alaa Abdel-Ghani The big story was Sunday's election of Mahmoud Abbas who succeeded Yasser Arafat as the Palestinian leader. The poll itself was perhaps anti- climatic given the huge lead Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, enjoyed over his nearest rivals in several pre-election surveys. Thus, the emphasis was not so much on the win or the margin of victory but on what Abbas plans to do once crowned. Still, the smooth transfer of power as evidenced by the civility the Palestinians showed in the wake of Arafat's death in November, and culminating in the elections, made the headlines and opinion pieces. The papers commented extensively on the election with one editorial saying all Arabs must now envy Palestinian democracy. Another noted that, despite the hope the election has brought, Abbas faces a "heavy and thorny burden". From the Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam: "At last, the Palestinian people have come first... and are standing together with the great practicing democracies. Maybe our military and political struggle is not liked by some, but our Palestinian democracy is liked by everyone, friend as well as foe. Today, the Arab peoples are feeling envious of the Palestinians. "Those who cast their votes have not only elected a new president but also a new period in their history. This choice will be complete next May with the parliamentary elections, which will reflect the depth of the change in the Palestinian political map." In the Palestinian Al-Quds : "Our people are waiting for the new president to fulfil his promises, especially the right of return and the prisoners' issue. Undoubtedly, the people will support the president to whom they have given their trust as long as he adheres to fixed national positions and the promises on which he was elected... The elections are a test for Israel and its wish to achieve peace. We hope that it will not reject again the Palestinian hand extended to achieve a just and comprehensive peace. "We think the jihadists should mix their ideology with a little bit of politics so as to give any cease- fire a chance... The Palestinian people are crying to the world with one voice: 'Let Israel and its armies leave the occupied Palestinian territories so that the democratic state can be established.'" And from the Palestinian Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah : "What is waiting for you, Abu Mazen, is a heavy and thorny burden... You are the hope of the honest, simple, poor and truly nationalist people. We congratulate you." Though official results were not announced until Monday, the Monday morning issue of the Saudi- funded, London-based Asharq Al-Awsat decided not to wait. The front page banner headline read: "Abu Mazen the president of the Palestinian Authority and initial results give him 66.3 per cent of the vote." In Al-Hayat, another Saudi-funded venture in London, Ghassan Charbal said Abbas could not afford to ignore the opposition or the rejectionists. "His victory gives him a clear mandate but that does not mean sidelining others from the equation. He cannot bypass Hamas nor deny the movement's popularity within a large swathe of Palestinian society." "The elections are a big lesson for Iraq," Charbal continued the next day. "What has taken place in Palestine should be done in Iraq... the elections have succeeded before the eyes of the world and has put paid to the notion that a democracy cannot exit in the Arab world." In the run-up to the election, newspapers looked ahead with a mixture of pride and anticipation. In an Al-Ayyam commentary by Talal Awkal: "Here we are a few metres before the end of the race for the Palestinian presidency. The initial assessment is that we face a real electoral process. This is a rare event in an Arab desert that is devoid of pluralism or genuine competition. It is also the first experience of its kind for the Palestinians. "Of the seven candidates, Abu Mazen has been the only one to declare clearly and courageously that the Intifada's militarisation and Qassam rockets have given Israel the pretext to continue its aggression against us. The militarisation, with its limited capabilities and primitive rockets, has not been able to isolate the occupation and has not liberated us. "Only one day separates us from the elections... turnout is expected to be high because of the Palestinian ambition to break free from the occupation's bondage... Despite the lack of heat in the presidential elections, they have set the tone for the next parliamentary and municipal elections... They embody political pluralism in a democratic atmosphere that has not been marred or disrupted by anything. " An editorial in Al-Quds Al-Arabi focussed on what it perceived to be US interference in the Palestinian electoral process. "US Secretary of State Colin Powell said he found the failure of election front-runner Mahmoud Abbas to distance himself from Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades 'disturbing' -- a report which itself alarms us. If the reports about Colin Powell's disappointment at seeing Abu Mazen standing with members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades are true," it warned, "this would be a dangerous sign. "No Palestinian leader -- including Abu Mazen -- needs a good-behaviour certificate, either from Powell or from anyone else." A commentator in Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah agreed, referring to a meeting held between Abbas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades commander Zakariya Al-Zubaydi, which prompted Powell's concern. "Powell should know that the Fatah candidate is not Iyad Allawi," says Adli Sadiq, contrasting Abbas with Iraq's interim prime minister who is seen by some in the region as a US puppet. "If the whole world is urging us to democratise," he adds, "we have to do as we are asked, so as not to let the chance of joining the club of democratic nations slip through our fingers." On any other day, the agreement reached in Sudan would have overshadowed all else but given that the deal was struck the same day the Palestinian poll was held, Sudan had to settle for second billing, at least in Asharq Al-Awsat. The headline: "Sudan bids farewell to Africa's longest civil war after 22 years and two million killed, and begins the struggle for peace." Two weeks after its devastating run, the Asian tsunami was still in the news -- but again the Palestinian elections were not far behind. Butheina Shaaban in Asharq Al-Awsat : "The tsunami, with the destruction it has wrought, the homes it has destroyed and the orphans it has created, looks eerily similar to what the Israeli occupation has brought to the Palestinians." And Sawsan Al- Abtah in the same newspaper described the Palestinian elections, as earth-shaking as she said they were, "the Arab tsunami".
