Abbas has little chance of winning PA election, think-tank report says

Abbas has little chance

By BEN HARTMAN
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's chances of being reelected are slim, and the likelihood the Palestinian Authority will be able to hold successful presidential elections in January is as low as ever, according to a special report presented to MKs last week. The report was compiled by the MACRO Center for Political Economics as part of its Position Papers on Social, Economic and Political Issues distributed to MKs and ministers on a biweekly basis to give them an overview of the major issues on the Knesset agenda. The report, presented on Wednesday, states that international support of Abbas has created a false sense of political vitality for Abbas and Fatah that is wholly out of touch with Palestinian political realities. The report also argued that the recent threat by Abbas to drop out of the race for the Palestinian presidency is a political maneuver. Furthermore, the report states that even in the unlikely event that the Hamas-run Palestinian Central Election Committee did allow West Bank elections to take place in January, there is little legitimacy Abbas could expect to garner from the political contest. Last Thursday, Abbas indicated he wouldn't run in the January elections, blaming the lack of diplomatic progress between the PA and Israel as the reason. The threat has led many to speculate that Abbas is trying to threaten the collapse of the PA as a means of helping kick-start the diplomatic process. The report states that Abbas may be using the elections as a means of revitalizing his image with the Palestinians as someone willing to give up the PA presidency if the diplomatic demands of the Palestinians are not being met, the report states. The MACRO Center finances its research with the support of external foundations and research funds.