RAMALLAH, West Bank: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday rejected a complaint by former Prime Minister and chief Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qorei that he had lost his seat on the executive of Fatah in an “unsound” party election.
“Our people and the world followed Fatah as it undertook an election process which was democratic and transparent,” Abbas told a news conference.
“As for those who were unlucky in this election, that’s democracy. But they will continue to have a role in the party.”
Abbas said there was “no possibility of Fatah being split, especially not because of Abu Ala. He wouldn’t even think of doing that.”
Qorei, 72-year-old former chief negotiator with Israel, earlier said the Fatah congress election “from the outset ... did not meet the minimum principles of transparency.”
Better known as Abu Ala, he was one of 10 veteran Central Committee members who sought re-election. He was a central committee member for years and worked on organizing the long awaited sixth congress, which he chaired at its opening in Bethlehem on Aug. 4.
“Arrangements were made behind the scenes that led to having some of the names pushed aside and other names forced in,” he said, alluding to the last minute addition of Palestinian Presidency head Tayib Abdulrahim to the 16th spot out of 19 in the Central Committee.
He also alleged that external sources intervened in the election, and mentioned the victory of former top security officials — Mohammed Dahlan, Jibril Rajoub, Tawfiq Al-Tirawi — who he called “coordinators with the occupation” and wondered if this was a coincidence.
“The elections raise many questions,” Qorei said. “It seems that Tehran’s (Iranian presidential) elections were more transparent,” said Qorei. Iranian opposition leaders charge that the June poll which returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power for a second term was rigged. Qorei also said: “The situation is not easy ... There is a great degree of grumbling in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. But I do not raise questions about those who won.”
Among irregularities he noted were 10 ballot boxes for the Central Committee instead of one; a 24-hour delay in announcing the result; many ballots in the same handwriting; armed security men present while the count was going on. Qorei said he expected challenges to the results of voting for the Parliament of the secular party, the Revolutionary Council, that were due to be announced on Friday.
“There will be no trust in the results,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a different and unrelated development, Abbas ruled out resuming peace talks with Israel unless it stops settlement building and insisted on the Palestinians’ right to “legitimate resistance.”
— With input from agencies
