October 07, 2008
HAMAS members of parliament say they will not recognise Mahmud Abbas as president after January 8, a move that could sharpen the internal divisions plaguing the Palestinians.
"The legal term of president Abbas ends on January 8 and Abu Mazen (Abbas) will not remain president for a single minute after this date,'' Hamas parliamentary leader Ahmed Bahar told AFP today.
"On October 8, president Abbas must order the Central Committee for Elections to prepare for the next presidential election, which must take place on January 9,'' he said, following a meeting of the Hamas parliamentary bloc.
The Islamist movement has had no contacts with Abbas since it drove his forces from Gaza in a week of bloody fighting in June 2007 but the movement still recognises him as the head of the Palestinian Authority.
When asked if Hamas would put forward a candidate to stand against Abbas, Bahar said: "All possibilities are under discussion.'' Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 but has never fielded a presidential candidate.
The Palestinian constitution says presidential elections must be held every four years, which Hamas interprets to mean that Abbas's term expires in 2009, since he was elected in January 2005.
Under their interpretation, if Abbas does not step down, the speaker of parliament, Hamas MP Aziz Dweik, would become acting president. Since Dweik is currently in an Israeli jail, Bahar would serve in his place.
Abbas's supporters however cite a different provision of the constitution which says that presidential and parliamentary elections should be held together, which would extend Abbas's term to January 2010.
Bahar said Palestinian politics was entering a "difficult'' period but expressed hope that there would be reconciliation between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah party, which have been bitterly divided since the Gaza takeover.
Representatives from the two main Palestinian factions are due to meet in Cairo on November 4 to try to agree on a national unity government.
The current 120-member Palestinian parliament includes 74 Hamas MPs, 30 of whom are in Israeli custody.
Israel and the West have in the past boycotted every Palestinian government that included Hamas, which they blacklist as a terrorist organisation.
HAMAS members of parliament say they will not recognise Mahmud Abbas as president after January 8, a move that could sharpen the internal divisions plaguing the Palestinians.
"The legal term of president Abbas ends on January 8 and Abu Mazen (Abbas) will not remain president for a single minute after this date,'' Hamas parliamentary leader Ahmed Bahar told AFP today.
"On October 8, president Abbas must order the Central Committee for Elections to prepare for the next presidential election, which must take place on January 9,'' he said, following a meeting of the Hamas parliamentary bloc.
The Islamist movement has had no contacts with Abbas since it drove his forces from Gaza in a week of bloody fighting in June 2007 but the movement still recognises him as the head of the Palestinian Authority.
When asked if Hamas would put forward a candidate to stand against Abbas, Bahar said: "All possibilities are under discussion.'' Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 but has never fielded a presidential candidate.
The Palestinian constitution says presidential elections must be held every four years, which Hamas interprets to mean that Abbas's term expires in 2009, since he was elected in January 2005.
Under their interpretation, if Abbas does not step down, the speaker of parliament, Hamas MP Aziz Dweik, would become acting president. Since Dweik is currently in an Israeli jail, Bahar would serve in his place.
Abbas's supporters however cite a different provision of the constitution which says that presidential and parliamentary elections should be held together, which would extend Abbas's term to January 2010.
Bahar said Palestinian politics was entering a "difficult'' period but expressed hope that there would be reconciliation between Hamas and Abbas's Fatah party, which have been bitterly divided since the Gaza takeover.
Representatives from the two main Palestinian factions are due to meet in Cairo on November 4 to try to agree on a national unity government.
The current 120-member Palestinian parliament includes 74 Hamas MPs, 30 of whom are in Israeli custody.
Israel and the West have in the past boycotted every Palestinian government that included Hamas, which they blacklist as a terrorist organisation.
Source: The Australian
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