By Leigh Garlock
One of the top candidates for the Palestinian presidential elections, Marwan Barghouti, announced his withdrawal on Dec. 12, clearing the way for Mahmoud Abbas.
According to the New York Times, the Fatah politician dropped out of the running to strengthen the popularity for Abbas, who is the Palestine Liberation Organization?s main candidate. The New York Times reported 45-year-old Barghouti said he would drop out of the race and support Abbas because of persuasions from Palestinian minister Qaddoura Fares.
The Fatah, a Palestinian faction founded in 1959, wanted Abbas, 69, to be the only candidate for the elections. The Fatah leadership specifically gave its support by stating Abbas is 'the only candidate of the Fatah movement.'
The elections are to replace the former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who died unexpectedly last November.
Al-Jazeera reported around 1,000 candidates competing for the 300 political seats in Palestine. The first phase of the elections started Dec. 23, 2004. On Jan. 9 the elections for president will be proceeding, with a number of candidates being from the Palestinian political groups Fatah and Hamas.
?There are a lot of different kinds of candidates in this election,? said Austin Baird, an international relations major. ?They have a lawyer in there, a businessman and a couple of guys that are in jail.?
One of the candidates in jail is Barghouti, who is currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison. Last May an Israeli court charged him with the murders of five Israelis during an attack by Fatah militants. He was also charged in connection with 26 other Israeli deaths.
Despite being incarcerated, his jail time only increased his popularity among the younger generation of Palestinians. According to the New York Times, most of Barghouti?s supporters agree with his extreme political viewpoints that placed him in jail.
Before the deadline to register as a candidate, Barghouti?s wife, Fadwa, brought him a form to run as an independent contender. According to Al-Jazeera, he submitted his form on Dec. 1, 2004, which caused a stir with the Fatah leaders.
Barghouti started his political involvement in Palestine more than 40 years ago. He was born in 1959 in Ramallah. At the age of 15, Barghouti began his political involvement in Fatah. He was arrested for the first time when he was 18 years old for involvement in an uprising against Israel. Ten years later, Barghouti became a major political leader of the West Bank.