Poll: Barghouti to win Palestine presidential elections

Imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti is expected to get the largest number of votes if he runs for president, Director of the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, Khalil Shikaki, said yesterday.

Speaking about the latest survey conducted by his centre, Shikaki said that 78 per cent of eligible Palestinians are expected to vote in the upcoming general election.

If Barghouti led an independent electoral list, and Fatah and Hamas each had their separate lists, 79 per cent of the Palestinians would participate in the parliamentary elections, the poll found.

He said that 27 per cent of the voters would give their votes to Hamas’ list, 24 per cent to Fatah, 20 per cent to Barghouti and seven per cent to ousted Fatah member Mohammad Dahlan’s list.

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Shikaki said that the survey asked participants to choose their preferred presidential candidate and 22 per cent said Marwan Barghouti, 14 per cent chose Ismail Haniyeh, nine per cent said current President Mahmoud Abbas would receive their vote and seven per cent said Dahlan.

He stressed that Barghouti would win presidential elections unless both Fatah and Hamas stand together against him.

In January, Abbas announced that the 2021 general elections will include the legislative elections on 22 May, the presidential elections on 31 July, and the elections of the Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, on 31 August.