About 30 Fatah-affiliated independent candidates have pulled out of the race for the Palestinian legislative elections, a Fatah campaign coordinator told the Palestine Media Center (PMC).
Observers say their departure from the race is likely to increase Fatah’s gains against their main rival, Hamas.
But Jamal Muhaisen, the campaign coordinator, said internal polls suggest there are still about 50 Fatah-affiliated independent candidates in the race who have no chance of winning. “The only thing they would do is to divide Fatah’s votes and serve Hamas,” he said.
Observers say votes for the independent candidates who pulled out are likely to go to Fatah, strengthening their performance in the poll against Hamas.
Hamas is designated a terror organization by the United States and Israel.
Dr. Nafidh Shalah, an independent candidate in Gaza decided to pull out of the race “for the sake of Fatah and its candidates in the district” according to a Fatah announcement. He urged his supporters to vote for the Fatah list.
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud ‘Abbas met recently with independent Fatah candidates and urged then to withdraw from the race, but his appeal was largely ignored, the PMC reported.
Palestinians are choosing 132 parliament members on Wednesday — 66 from national party lists and 66 in direct competition in 16 electoral districts.
Fatah is mainly concerned about the district votes in which there are many independent Fatah-breakaway candidates who are likely to take votes from Fatah candidates.
According to a poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PCPSR), conducted last week, some 42 percent of the population will vote for Fatah on the national level, while 35% will vote for Hamas’ Change and Reform List.
The poll was conducted between 17-19 of January in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It questioned 4,516 potential voters with a margin of error of 2% for the lists at the national level. At the electoral district level, the margin of error ranges between 4% and 7%.