Qurei rejects results of Fat'h elections as fury within Fatah mounts

[ 13/08/2009 - 10:15 AM ]

LONDON, (PIC)--

The prominent Fat'h leader Ahmed Qurei (Abu Al-Al’a) has asserted Thursday that a state of anger was prevailing within Fatah members due to the forgery that occurred in the faction’s central committee elections.

In an interview with the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, Qurei pointed out that there was a big question mark on the method of the elections and the way the canvassing process was carried out.

“I believe that certain arrangements were being made behind the scenes to cross-out names and to impose other names… the method that we all agreed upon to supervise the election process wasn’t followed as we have agreed to cast all the votes of the central committee in one ballot box, but it was made in ten ballot boxes”, Qurei underlined.

He also hinted at “external” interference in the elections process, jokingly saying “It seems that what had happened in Tehran is less than what had happened in this elections process”, alluding to the alleged forgery in Iran’s presidential elections.

“The current stage is hard and difficult, and there were offers for a temporary state and a solution without the Right of Return and without Jerusalem, and it seems that there were people in the Palestinian arena who were ready to accept those offers”, he highlighted.

He also put a big question mark on the elections of four PA security leaders known for their coordination with the Israeli occupation to the central committee, saying “Did this happen incidentally?”

In this regard, Qurei confirmed that he wasn’t contesting the results of the central committee’s elections only but he rejects the whole elections process.

He underscored, “I was against holding the conference in Palestine under the Israeli occupation but when things happened opposite to my will, I tried my best to put the congress on the right track; but unfortunately everything became up-side-down because there was a group that wanted something against the will of the majority”.

“It seems they were searching for Yes-men”, he stressed, adding that he would go public in a couple of days and tell about everything in detail.

He also described the insertion of Tayyab Abdul Rahim into the central committee as “shameful”, wondering “how could this happen? Is it as simple as put this and kick out that?”

Furthermore, Qurei supported claims of Gaza representatives that they weren’t given the chance to cast their votes, disclosing that Mohammed Al-Sayyad, the chairman of the congress election committee, rendered his resignation due to the forgery in the voting process from Gaza members, but he was pressured to change his mind.

Finally, Qurei acknowledged that he was no longer supporting the “two-state” solution, saying, “What kind of a state they are talking about that has no borders, no army, no sovereignty, and no Jerusalem”.

Qaddoumi: I am still the legitimate secretary of Fat'h

[ 12/08/2009 - 08:12 PM ]

GAZA, (PIC)--

Fat'h strongman and veteran political leader Farouq Qaddoumi has asserted Wednesday that regardless of the outcome of the elections in Fat'h’s sixth congress he is still the legitimate secretary of the faction.

He lashed out at some Fat'h leaders who, according to him, garnered their seats in the new set-up of the faction’s central committee although they were behind many national catastrophes that rocked the Palestinian community that should bring them before justice.

“I am still the secretary of Fat'h, and I don’t need a recommendation from anyone as my record in the Movement testifies for me”, said Qaddoumi in an interview with the Shehab new agency Wednesday commenting on rumors that Mahmoud Abbas, the former PA chief and Fatah leader, might reinstate him in the central committee.

Moreover, the Fatah leader categorically rejected legitimacy of the entire process in Bethlehem and raised doubts on the way Abbas was elected as Fat'h’s supreme leader, explaining that Fatah’s laws and regulations stipulate that the voting process should be made secretly and not publicly.

“This form of voting is considered as indirect coercion to influence the will of the electorate and give absolute power to the ruler to banish his opponents”, Qaddoumi pointed out.

Qaddoumi had publicly accused Mahmoud Abbas and the disgraced Fatah leader Mohammed Dahalan of killing Yasser Arafat, the late Fatah founder and leader in 2004, but after he was elected unopposed to the highest post in Fatah Movement, Abbas urged Qaddoumi to “repent” for that accusation but Qaddoumi refused.

The Fat'h leader added that he strongly rejects the idea of concentrating authority in the hand of one man, and that he was against the idea of making one man beyond accountability because, he added, it is against the principles and the history of Fatah.

He also underlined that that the Israeli occupation government wouldn’t have allowed the conference to be held inside occupied Palestine without getting the “price” for that permission.

“That is why we say that the entire process was illegitimate being held under the occupation”, he highlighted. Furthermore more, Qaddoumi opined that the conference had deepened the rift inside Fatah instead of curing its wounds.

Mass resignation: In Gaza Strip, the Fat'h supreme leadership committee rendered its resignation to Abbas protesting the way the election process was made, said Fatah leader Ahmad Nasr.

According to Nasr, more resignations within Fatah would take place as dissatisfaction among Fatah members in the Strip was mounting.

“I want to explain that the resignation was made due to the worsening condition in Fat'h, in addition to the forgery that occurred during the voting process", underscored Nasr, adding that many of Fatah members in Gaza Strip were denied their right to vote.

Report: Ousted Fat'h leader Qureia hints elections unclean

Published today (updated) 13/08/2009 16:42

 Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies -

“The forgeries in Iran were much smaller than what we had in Palestine," the Israeli news website Ynet quoted former Palestinian Prime Minister and Central Committee member Ahmed Qureia as saying.

The site ran an unsourced interview Thursday, where the ousted Qureia alleged that "arrangements were made behind the scenes that led to having some of the names pushed aside and other names forced in," and accused election winners Muhammad Dahlan, Jibril Rajoub, and Tawfiq Al-Tirawi of being "coordinators with the occupation." Qureia wondered out loud about a connection between the men’s alleged ties with Israel and their win at the ballot boxes.

The allegations follow a series of elections recounts from the Sixth Fat'h Congress, where 2,241 members cast their votes for 18 spots in the party’s Central Committee and 80 spots in the Revolutionary Council. Results from the first set of elections were affirmed Wednesday following two recounts and quiet accusations of elections irregularities.

A Central Committee election upset saw formerly 19th place aide to Palestinian President and Fat'h Chair Mahmoud Abbas, Al-Tayyib Abdul Rahim, rise to 16th place, while 18th place went to a tie. Qureia himself called for the first recount after he got the 20th highest number of votes, meaning he would no longer be a member of the top body.

"There will be no harmony within the group that was elected,” said Qureia of the newly elected Central Committee. He called the entry of Abdul Rahim “shameful” and asked “How does such a thing happen?"

Report: Qaddoumi rejects Fat'h elections, maintains leadership role

Published today 15:02 Qaddoumi, Abbas [MaanImages] Bethlehem - Ma’an/Agencies -

Regardless of the outcome of the elections in Fat'h’s Sixth Congress Farouq Al-Qaddoumi maintains he is still the legitimate secretary of the faction, a Gaza-based on-line news agency, Shehab, reported Wednesday.

There has been little word from Qaddoumi since he launched accusations at Fat'h Chair and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas along with Fat'h leader from Gaza Mohammed Dahlan, saying the two had conspired with the CIA and Israel to assassinate Yasser Arafat.

Qaddoumi did not attend the Sixth Fat'h Congress in Bethlehem, and did not nominate himself for a seat on the Central Committee, the top governing body of Fat'h of which he has been a part for the last 20 years. The day voting for the committee started, and following the uncontested election of Abbas to the head of the committee, Abbas publically invited Qaddoumi to return to the party. "Those who own their mistakes are the best among us,” he said.  

The speech sparked rumors that Abbas would seek to appoint Qaddoumi to one of the now three vacant seats in the Central Committee. Responding to the suggestion, however, he was quoted as saying: “I am still the Secretary-General of Fat'h, and I don’t need a recommendation from anyone as my record in the Movement testifies for me.”

The long-time leader, who now lives in exile in Tunis, categorically rejected the legitimacy of the conference proceedings and the elections in Bethlehem. He alleged that the party regulations do not allow for public voting. Abbas was elected by a show of hands, on camera, on the third day of the conference. 

“This form of voting is considered as indirect coercion to influence the will of the electorate and give absolute power to the ruler to banish his opponents,” Qaddoumi told the paper.

Re-elected Fat'h leader says unity must top agenda

Published yesterday (updated) 12/08/2009 22:09

Gaza – Ma’an –

Newly-elected Fat'h leaders now face the hard work of uniting their party in order to unite the nation, said the recently re-elected Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Sha’ath on Wednesday.

“Don’t forget that our only rival is occupation,” he said in a statement.

“The success of the sixth congress inside our homeland is a distinguishing feature in the history of this great movement [Fat'h],” the the official said.

Sha’ath also addressed candidates who failed to gain one of 18 elected seats on the Central Committee asserting that all of them had “served their homeland” and deserve due respect. “They should give advice and extend every possible effort because we have hard work to do, and great tasks to carry out in order to resume unity of our homeland, and secure independence, return of refugees and release of prisoners.

Sha’ath ended his comments by confirming that Fat'h’s new political agenda, which endorses the two-state solution, was unanimously approved and ratified, and will be a guide to all Fat'h supporters.

Sha’ath was one of just a handful of incumbents to survive the election, which saw a purge of many of the older members of the movement’s ruling committee.

In aiming to achieve national unity, Fat'h faces the task of reconciling with arch-rival Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip.

In light of the Central Committee elections, the task will not be easy. While some of the new members are from Fatah’s younger generations, they also include members of the anti-Hamas camp such as the former Gaza security commander Muhammad Dahlan and former West Bank intelligence chief Tawfiq Al-Tirawi.

Fat'h elections: 100 local teachers brought on to speed up counting

Published today (updated) 13/08/2009 15:23 [MaanImages] Bethlehem – Ma’an –

Ballot counting for Fatah’s 80 elected seats on its Revolutionary Council is moving slowly and sorting methods are ineffective, Fatah spokesman in Bethlehem Mohammad Lahham said late Wednesday night.

Slow progress meant elections officials were forced to take action and brought 100 teachers from the Bethlehem area into the sorting rooms as supplementary teams, in the hope that extra counters would help the count finish before Friday.

Lahham also noted that more than a dozen young men were dismissed from the elections counting because they were “slow and inaccurate,” causing ballots and boxes to be entirely recounted.