Palestinians now recommend just not bothering with January election
In the face of opposition by Hamas, Palestinian Authority polling officials now recommend simply calling off the scheduled presidential vote in January. Election commission chairman Hanna Nasser says it will not be possible to carry out the vote in Hamas-run Gaza - and without participation by all Palestinians, there’s really no point in having an election. Palestinian areas are divided between President Mahmoud Abbas' administration on the West Bank and the Hamas-controlled Gaza. Hamas has already said it would not sign up for a 24 January 2010 election. Abbas recently announced he would not run again due to his frustrations with the frozen peace efforts. But, if he goes along with a postponed election, he could stay in office until, well, wheneve. And they could save all that money on those expensive ballots and ballot boxes. For more, read the AP
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