Mahmoud Abbas declares victory in election for PA chair

Palestine Liberation Organization chief Mahmoud Abbas declared victory yesterday in the election for Palestinian Authority chair and dedicated his victory to Yasser Arafat.

"We offer this victory to the soul of the brother martyr Yasser Arafat and to all Palestinians," Abbas told a jubilant rally of his Fatah party in Ramallah.

"There is a difficult mission ahead to build our state, to achieve security for our people ... to give our prisoners freedom, our fugitives a life in dignity, to reach our goal of an independent state," he said to hundreds of cheering supporters.

Exit polls released shortly after polls closed in the Palestinian Authority leadership race yesterday evening gave Abbas between 66-70 percent of the vote.

Such a margin of victory would give Abbas a clear mandate to renew peace talks with Israel, rein in militants and reform the corruption-riddled PA.

Five other presidential candidates, ranging from a Marxist ex-guerrilla to an academic under U.S. house arrest on suspicion of funneling funds to Hamas militants, trailed far behind.

Al-Najah University in Nablus predicted Abbas, 69, who is also known as Abu Mazen, would garner 70.5 percent of the vote, while Mustafa Barghouti, the next main challenger, will get 24.5 percent of the vote. The poll was based on responses of more than 5,000 voters, and has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.

A poll conducted by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research gave Abbas 66.3 percent of vote, with Barghouti winning 19.7 percent of the vote. The poll was based on responses from about 10,000 voters, with an error margin of 3 percentage points.

A third poll, done by Bir Zeit University in Ramallah, found that Abbas had won 70 percent of the vote. Barghouti had 20 percent of the vote, based on interviews with 7,000 eligible voters. The poll had an error margin of 3 percentage points.

An independent estimate put the election turnout at around 65 percent.

"These are initial results but we expect Abu Mazen to win with over 70 percent," said Abbas's campaign manager, Mohammed Shtayeh, in response to the exit polls. "This is the choice of the people and this means that Abu Mazen has the mandate to implement his program."

Final results are expected this morning.

Abbas supporters celebrated in the streets of Ramallah, honking car horns, waving flags and holding his portrait aloft.

U.S. President George W. Bush said said that the Palestinian election marked an essential step toward the goal of statehood and promised to help the new president in a renewed push for peace talks with Israel.

"I think this vote shows a change in the Palestinian street" moving away from support of violence, said Sharon aide Raanan Gissin. "We certainly welcome this and hope that from this mandate Abu Mazen will lead the Palestinian people on the path of reconciliation."

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, one of 800 international monitors, said it appeared Israel was keeping to its promise to ease the passage of Palestinians at military checkpoints. "There is no [Israeli] intimidation I have seen," Carter said after visiting checkpoints near Jerusalem.

"The elections are going very well and this proves that the Palestinian people are moving toward democracy," Abbas said after casting his ballot in the Muqata headquarters in Ramallah, under a portrait of Arafat. "There are obstacles, but the determination of the people is stronger."

Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said yesterday it was in Israel's interest for the elections to go smoothly, saying this would enable the newly elected Palestinian leader to fight terrorism immediately.

"I think that the leader who is elected will have to wage a genuine struggle against terror immediately and carry out reforms [in the PA] ... Of course, we expect a new, different Palestinian leadership that will be prepared to move in the direction of peace," Shalom said.

	Reuters Mahmoud Abbas casting his ballot in Ramallah yesterday.