Mahmoud ‘Abbas is still the strongest contender in the upcoming election for leadership of the Palestinian Authority, according to a new poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center (JMCC) between December 18 and December 20.
The poll questioned 1,199 Palestinian adults who were interviewed face-to-face in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with a margin of error of 3 percent.
Asked which of the seven candidates they would vote for in the January 9 election, 42.5% said they would vote for Mahmoud ‘Abbas, 14.6% said they would vote for Mu’stafa Barghouthi and the other five candidates each got less than three percent support. One in every five said they would not vote and 13.6% said they were still undecided.
This poll was conducted days after the imprisoned Marwan Barghouthi, who was originally the second most popular candidate after ‘Abbas, opted out of the election race.
Asked an open question about which Palestinian figure they trust most to lead the Palestinian people after Yassir Arafat, a third of those questioned named ‘Abbas and one in every 10 mentioned Marwan Barghouthi. Barghouthi is currently serving five consecutive life sentences in an Israeli prison for his involvement in terror activity against Israelis. A total of 5% mentioned Hamas personalities.
Nearly two-thirds said they support to varying degrees the continuation of what they called the Al-Aq’sa intifada in Palestinian territories.