Abbas's Fatah to hold primaries in reform move
Reuters
Date: 03-28-05
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA, March 28 (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction, in a major step towards democratic reform, will hold primaries to choose its candidates for the July Palestinian parliamentary election, officials in the group said on Monday.
The 120-member Fatah Revolutionary Council, the faction's second most important decision-making body, agreed on the move at the end of a two-day meeting, the officials said.
Officials have traditionally achieved positions of power within Fatah by appointment rather than by the ballot box.
The faction has suffered from a public perception of rampant corruption, mismanagement and internal divisions pitting moderates against militants and veteran leaders against younger members demanding democratic reforms.
Mohammad al-Horani, a member of the young guard, called the prospect of primaries "a victory for all Fatah members who long felt marginalised".
"The new decision will allow new blood to flow inside Fatah," he told Reuters.
Members of Fatah's younger generation of leaders told Reuters the decision to hold primaries was a strategic shift for the movement.
Young leaders have been demanding reforms within Fatah since the Islamic militant group Hamas, which opposes peace deals with Israel, made a strong showing in municipal elections earlier this year in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Hamas, which refused to take part in the last parliamentary elections in 1996, decided to field candidates for the July 17 ballot, hoping to change the balance of power in the Fatah-dominated legislative council.
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