| Palestine: Abbas was the clear winner |
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January 10 2005: 05:33PM .- Ramallah - Palestine Liberation Organisation head Mahmoud Abbas easily beat six other candidates to win the Palestinian presidency, official election results released on Monday showed. Abbas scored 62.3 percent of the vote, compared to the 19.8 percent attained by his nearest rival, human rights activist Mustafa Barghouti. The remaining votes were split among the five other candidates. The 69-year-old former Palestinian premier with the reputation for pragmatic moderation now has to live up to expectations, not only of his own people, who hope he will do something about their shattered economy and the rampant chaos and corruption in the Palestinian Authority, but also of the international community, which hopes he will be able to start peace talks with Israel. [full story here] |
