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Abbas Wins Presidency

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dolcevita Extraordinary Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 11:24 pm Posts: 16061 Location: The Damage Control Table	Abbas Wins Presidency http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/09/palestinian.elections/index.html wrote: Palestinian moderate Abbas claims victory Isreal says it is ready to work with new leader RAMALLAH, West Bank (CNN) -- Former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas declared victory in the Palestinian presidential election late Sunday after exit polls gave him a commanding lead over his rivals. Abbas dedicated his win to "my brother," a reference to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. "There is a difficult mission ahead -- to build our state, to achieve security for our people, to provide a good life for our people, to give our prisoners freedom, our fugitives a life in dignity, to reach our goal of an independent state," Abbas said. Israel is prepared to immediately make "all the necessary adjustments" to work with Abbas, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told CNN. "The main challenge is still ahead for him," Olmert said. "Will he fight against the terrorists? Will he try to stop this bloody, violent war against the state of Israel? This is the main question. This is what interests us." President Bush said: "This is a historic day for the Palestinian people and for the people of the Middle East." A poll from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research found Mahmoud Abbas had 66 percent of the vote and his closest challenger, Mustafa Barghouti, had about 20 percent... Despite worries about potential violence among Palestinian factions or problems with Israeli roadblocks, Palestinians, Israelis, and international observers said the election went relatively smoothly. Election officials reported about 65 percent turnout among the 1.8 million voters. Earlier they had reported only about 35 percent, and extended the voting by two hours. Abbas, a moderate now serving as interim chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, would take the reins held by Arafat, the popular leader who died in November. Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, was the candidate of Arafat's Fatah party. The 69-year-old once served as prime minister but quit the post, accusing Arafat of undermining his authority by refusing to give him control of the Palestinian Authority's security organizations... Hamas, an Islamic fundamentalist group listed by the United States and Israel as a terrorist organization, did not take part in the election. Other groups also sat out the vote. One reason Palestinian leaders were concerned about turnout was that they want the winner to have the clear support of the Palestinian people. "We want it to be a mandate that will put an end to any small group or minority trying to hijack Palestinian decision-making," Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi told CNN... Well 65% if its note stuffed is higher than the U.S. so I guess its enough to consider the winner had clear support. Seems like things went pretty smoothly. Earlier on the campaign trail he expressed alot of rage at some of Sharon's recent actions but later modified his position. That's pretty decent in the sceme of things. I still do not know all that much about this guy, except for his stepping down when he had conflicts with Arafat in the past. Who knows how those played out. Sharon is willing to talk, so lets hope this really is a good step in the right direction. In partialy relatated news, Tony Blaire has one foot in the political grave after mismanging the agenda of an upcoming conference between the Palestinians and Israelis amongst other mishandlings.
Sun Jan 09, 2005 9:56 pm

torrino College Boy T Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:52 pm Posts: 16020	LOL, dolce. Did you edit the article, or was that snippet from President Bush really placed in the article in between Olmert's quote and the info about the poll from the Palestinian Center. It has no frickin' relevence to the rest of the article! It's just in there (the "This is a historic day for the Palestinian people and for the people of the Middle East") for no reason. Bleh. And, it sounds stupid too. Yes. I hope Abbas works with Sharon, even if (when Arafat was alive) Sharon could be as intolerant as Arafat at times. Part of me says the two states deserve each other solely for the ignorance present on both halves, but, then, of course, as a Jew, I feel obliged to defend Sharon and point the finger at Arafat (even though he's prob. more responsible anyways).
Sun Jan 09, 2005 10:03 pm

Algren now we know Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 9:31 pm Posts: 68222 Location: Seattle, WA	crazy _________________ STOP UIGHUR GENOCIDE IN XINJIANG FIGHT FOR TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE FREE TIBET LIBERATE HONG KONG BOYCOTT MADE IN CHINA
Sun Jan 09, 2005 10:08 pm

torrino College Boy T Joined: Mon Oct 11, 2004 7:52 pm Posts: 16020	Algren wrote: :lol: crazy Um...
Sun Jan 09, 2005 10:09 pm

wertham Wall-E Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 3:47 pm Posts: 863	There's a real shocker for you. Man, that Bush League is making an art of rigging elections. _________________ (selah)
Sun Jan 09, 2005 10:13 pm

Anonymous	It's good that the Palestinian people were finally able to voice their opinion over how to live their lives, but I wouldn't put that much faith in the guy. Of course, I'd love to be proven wrong, and I hope a real peace process finally emerges now that the child-killer is dead.
Sun Jan 09, 2005 11:26 pm

Groucho Extraordinary Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 9:30 pm Posts: 12096 Location: Stroudsburg, PA	Yeah, I'll trust this guy when I see a reduction in terrorist attacks in Israel... but I'm kind of cynical that there will be much change, really. _________________ Buy my books! http://michaelaventrella.com
Mon Jan 10, 2005 12:05 am

Bodrul All Star Poster Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2004 11:21 am Posts: 4694 Location: Cambridge, England.	Thank god it was a landslide win. _________________
Mon Jan 10, 2005 6:46 am

Citizen Klown Speed Racer Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 9:56 pm Posts: 140 Location: Not at BOM	Mike Ventrella wrote: Yeah, I'll trust this guy when I see a reduction in terrorist attacks in Israel... but I'm kind of cynical that there will be much change, really. Unfortnately its not cynical it's logical; after 3000 years of conflict nothing is going to change very quickly. I hope its a good first step. _________________ Signature goes here
Tue Jan 11, 2005 12:49 pm
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Abbas Wins Presidency

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