Arafat takes overwhelming victory

But Palestinian president may face council opposition

January 21, 1996
Web posted at: 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT)

From Correspondent Jerrold Kessel

RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- Yasser Arafat triumphed in elections Saturday in a landslide that was seen as an endorsement of his peace policies. Thousands of Palestinians voted in the state's historic first election.

With 85 percent of the ballots counted, the central election committee said Arafat had garnered 90 percent of the votes for president of the Palestinian Council, compared with under 10 percent for his only challenger, Samiha Khalil. The rest of the votes were invalid; final results were to be in by Sunday afternoon.

Although Arafat posted a large victory, official candidates of his Fatah party didn't do as well. In filling the 88 seats on the Palestinian Council, voters picked many high-profile independent candidates over members of Arafat's Fatah party. Some of those independents don't support Arafat.

Election observers said the election process generally was "generally democratic and fair".

Israeli and Palestinian leaders called the election a boost for the peace process, under which Palestine is to gain autonomy. Observers said Arafat's strong showing was a blow to the Hamas and secular opponents of the autonomy agreements. Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres said he called Arafat to congratulate him.

Huge turnout

Voters journeyed to polling stations waving Palestinian flags, undeterred by an Islamic militant boycott. The election committee estimated a 90 percent voter turnout in the Gaza Strip, and 85 percent in the West Bank.

"I couldn't sleep at night, I was so excited," said student Abu Hamda, 18.

Another Palestinian said, "The time has come when the regular persons in the streets vote. We haven't had that in many, many years."

As he cast his vote, Arafat said, "This is the first legislative election for Palestinians, and this is a foundation for a Palestinian state."

The festive election, however, wasn't all upbeat.

In Hebron, the only West Bank city where Israeli troops remain, a Jewish settler was stabbed Saturday. Elsewhere, conflicting reports said a shooting incident at a polling station in a village outside of Nablus left one man dead and another injured. And voter turnout was low in Jerusalem, where Palestinian leaders and international officials complained that voters were scared off by 4,000 Israeli police called out to enforce security.

Palestine's next step

Palestinian leaders must now embark on the next phase of its democratic process, the accommodation of differing viewpoints.

One example is Abdel Jawad Saleeh, a reformist politician who was elected to the Palestinian Council with grassroots support. Although Saleeh won't agree that he's a thorn in Arafat's side, he pledged to hinder relations between the Palestinian leader and Peres, his Israeli peace partner.

"I'll make it harder for him to get a lot of compromises from Mr. Arafat," Saleeh said.

Israel on Sunday opened the borders in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, areas where Israeli security forces have been on alert for possible suicide bombings by Islamic militants.

Meanwhile, opponents of the peace process who are members of the PLO-based Palestine National Council were being allowed to return from exile. Arafat has pledged to amend the Palestinian charter that calls for the eradication of Israel, a move Israel considers the next test for peace. But getting a two-thirds majority for the amendment may prove difficult, said newly elected Palestinian Council member Hanan Ashrawi. ( 213K AIFF sound or 213K WAV sound)

The Palestinian election commission is basking in the election results and trying to remain upbeat .

"For the first time, very good is really excellent," said election commission member Gabi Baramki. "But, I want to be a little reserved, because there are certain areas we feel we could have done a little bit better."

As the Muslim world begins the holy Ramadan month, the elections have lifted the self-confidence of Palestinians, and many of them feel that puts them in a stronger position to achieve peace.

"The era of Israel is gone; the era of occupation is gone," said jubilant voter Hanineh Kehwani, 60, who is blind. "We are starting a new era of democracy."

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