May 5, 2005 - 7:50 PM

Fatah leads Hamas in Palestinian municipal vote

By Diala Saadeh

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah movement led in Palestinian municipal elections on Thursday despite a strong showing by Hamas Islamic militants, preliminary results showed.

But the militant Islamic group disputed the figures and said it was not ready to concede defeat.

A win would be a major boost for Fatah, which had seen its popularity slip amid corruption allegations while support for Hamas was on the rise. It would also reassure Fatah ahead of a parliamentary vote due in July.

A Palestinian election official said preliminary results showed Fatah winning roughly 60 percent of 84 councils across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Hamas won 30 percent. He did not say what percentage of votes had been counted.

"All the information being spread is false. Our observers in the municipal councils where Hamas is participating say that our movement is making very good progress," Hamas West Bank leader Hassan Youssef said. He also complained of balloting violations.

The election comes against the backdrop of a fragile ceasefire with Israel engineered by Abbas that has raised hopes of reviving Middle East peacemaking following 4-1/2 years of a Palestinian uprising.

Fatah supporters fired guns into the air in Gaza's border town of Rafah to celebrate the results, which are seen as a sign of confidence in political and security reforms by Abbas.

"The preliminary results assure the Palestinian people that Fatah continues to be the strongest and the most influential faction," said Jibril Rajoub, a security adviser to Abbas.

Hamas, which boycotted previous polls, posed an electoral challenge to Fatah after gaining street credibility for its fight against Israel, religious piety and charitable services.

Fatah feared it could get hammered by Hamas in upcoming parliamentary polls, which a senior official said could be delayed by disputes over election law changes some feel may aid Hamas.

POLLING STATIONS STORMED

The election had a festive air as the parties erected tents and greeted arriving voters, but the mood deteriorated after polls closed with supporters of both sides claiming victory.

About 20 masked men stormed two polling stations in the West Bank village of Attarah and destroyed three ballot boxes as votes were being tallied, an election official said.

Gaza militants fired two rockets into southern Israel shortly after exit polls predicted a Fatah victory, and medics said one struck a building, causing panic but no injuries.

The Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of militants that says it is not bound by the truce, claimed responsibility and said it was retaliation for the shooting deaths by Israeli soldiers of two Palestinian teenagers on Wednesday.

More than 2,500 candidates vied for the council seats and turnout was high -- 80 percent in Gaza and 70 percent in the West Bank, officials said. Some 400,000 Palestinians were eligible to vote.

Hamas had trounced Fatah in an earlier round of municipal voting in Gaza in January and made a strong showing in a similar West Bank poll in December, although Fatah got more seats. A final round is planned for later this year.

Hamas is anchoring the truce by militant groups but is also sworn to destroying Israel.

Hamas candidates on Thursday ran on the slogan "partners in blood, partners in decision-making". Some voters said they wanted power-sharing after decades of Fatah domination.

"I prefer that two factions rather than one be in charge for the sake of balance. People want the new council to end graft and get rid of unqualified officials," said Khalil al-Ashqar, 51, as he voted in the north Gaza town of Beit Lahiya.

Abbas, who took office in January, has vowed reforms to weed out unaccountable, incompetent officials and establish law and order. Last month he forcibly retired loyalists of the late Yasser Arafat in a security service revamp.