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Palestinians to choose Arafat�s sucessor Jan. 9 ELECTIONS to choose a successor to Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian authority are to be held on January 9. The move was announced by interim President, Rawhi Fattuh. A caretaker collective leadership has been in place in since Mr. Arafat�s death last Thursday. Palestine Liberation Organisation head and former Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas, has been chosen by the dominant Fatah faction to run as its candidate. Mr. Abbas has been considered a strong contender to take over the Palestinian presidency from Mr. Arafat. Other potential successors include the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, who has effectively become the head of the Palestinian Authority, and Farouk Kaddoumi, who was appointed as head of Fatah after Mr. Arafat�s death. The Palestinians have called on the United States (U.S) and the European Union to stop what they term any Israeli obstruction to holding a free, fair and complete vote. The election has reportedly led to disagreements in the Israeli cabinet. Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom has said Palestinians living in east Jerusalem should not vote because it could compromise talks on the status of the city. But Israeli officials said Preime Minister Ariel Sharon did not share Mr. Shalom�s view, and pointed out that east Jerusalem Palestinians had voted in the 1996 elections. Mr. Qurei insisted the 228,000 Arabs in Jerusalem had the same right to vote as any other Palestinians. Speaking at the Ramallah compound where Mr. Arafat was buried on Friday, Mr. Fattuh said candidates would be invited to put themselves forward for a period of 12 days from November 20. The election campaign will be begin on December 27 and close the day before the poll is held. Under Palestinian law, elections must be held within 60 days of a president�s incapacitation or death. Mr. Fattuh, who as speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Assembly automatically became the interim president after Mr. Arafat�s death, said the registration of voters missed during an initial sign-up period earlier this year would continue. © 2004 @ Champion Newspapers Limited (All Right Reserved). Powered By dnetsystems.net dnet®

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