 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
.svg) |
|---|
Officeholders whose status is disputed are shown initalics |
National symbols |
Administrative divisions |
|
Leaders Map shows birthplaces or family origins |
 Member state of the Arab League |
 Palestine portal |
The2005 Palestinian Presidential elections were held in theWest Bank andGaza Strip of thePalestinian National Authority on Sunday, 9 January 2005 to elect thePresident of thePalestinian National Authority, to succeedYasser Arafat, who had died on 11 November 2004.[1][2] The election was the first to be held since the1996 general election, and voters electedPalestine Liberation Organization chairmanMahmoud Abbas for a four-year term.
Seven candidates contested the election. Abbas won over 67% of the votes cast, independent candidateMustafa Barghouti came second with 21%, and the remaining candidates were far behind.[3] The election was boycotted byHamas andIslamic Jihad. Hamas urged supporters to stay away, but did not try to disrupt the election. In the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is strongest, it is estimated that about half of the eligible voters voted.
No presidential elections have taken place since 2005. Abbas has continued in office since the expiration of the four-year term on 9 January 2009,[4] withplanned elections repeatedly postponed.
On 25 November 2004,Fatah's Revolutionary Council endorsed Mahmoud Abbas as its preferred candidate for the presidential election, scheduled for 9 January 2005, despite his relative lack of popular appeal. Abbas was a former PA Prime Minister.
Marwan Barghouti, a member of thePalestinian Legislative Council and Fatah leader in the West Bank, who was in an Israeli prison after being convicted for a number ofintifada killings[citation needed], suggested that he might run[citation needed], inspiring considerable speculation about his prospects. He was seen as the only candidate who could hope to compete seriously against Abbas. However, his proposed candidacy met with resistance from Fatah activists[citation needed]. After contradictory announcements, Marwan Barghouti declared his candidacy just before the registration deadline expired but then withdrew from the race on 12 December, after discussions between his representatives and the Fatah leadership[citation needed]. Opinion polls before Marwan Barghouti withdrew his candidacy suggested that the contest would largely be between Abbas and Marwan Barghouti. Some of these polls showed:
With Marwan Barghouti's withdrawal, Abbas was seen as the clear favourite, with Marwan Barghouti‘s cousinMustafa Barghouti in second place.
Three other candidates who registered by the end of the registration period subsequently withdrew: they were Marwan Barghouti,Hassan Khreisheh andAbd al-Sattar Qasim.
The CEC had made enormous efforts to register all eligible Palestinian voters, but almost a third of eligible voters did not register or were unable to register. Problems were due to a not up to datecivil registry and the translation of Arabic names, which were in Hebrew on Israeli ID cards. In an effort to boost low turnout, the CEC made a controversial decision in the final hours of polling day to allow unregistered voters to cast ballots using only their identity cards, which raised fears of multiple voting.[5] A Palestinian election official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that the changes came after heavy pressure from Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement, which feared a low turnout could weaken Abbas. ("Abbas Wins Palestinian Vote in Landslide," Associated Press, 10 January 2005).
The day before the election the total number of registered voters was 1,092,407 according to a CEC press release.[6] On 23 November, the CEC said: "The number of registrants on the voters’ list reached 1,111,868, or 67 percent of the estimated number of eligible voters, during the registration process conducted between September 4 and October 13, 2004. Of these names, 19,000 were removed from the voters’ list because the accompanying data was incomplete or the names were repeated on the list. With this adjustment, the number of registered voters decreased to 1,092,856." ("46% of Registered Voters are Youths, 46% are Women.")[7]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(May 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
According toUNRWA, there were 2.6 million Palestinians registered as refugees with the agency eligible to receive services who lived outside Palestine, in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. An unknown additional number sometimes estimated to be up to one million live in the diaspora in Europe, North and South America and in other Arab countries.
The election was conducted by the PalestinianCentral Elections Commission (CEC), which was also responsible for the preparation of anelectoral register. The head of the CEC wasHanna Nasir, who was appointed in 2002 byYasser Arafat. The CEC was established by the Palestinian Authority in 1995 as an independent body.[8]
The CEC experienced some technical problems, including those due to the incomplete electoral register. Persons not listed on the electoral register were permitted to vote on presentation of a valid identity card. In view of the registration problems, in an effort to boost low turnout, in the final hours of polling day the CEC was controversially instructed to extend voting by two hours beyond the appointed closing time to allow unregistered voters to cast ballots using only their identity cards. The decision raised fears of multiple voting.[5]
The election was observed by a number of international observers, including formerPresidentJimmy Carter andU.S. SenatorsJoe Biden andJohn E. Sununu.
The election campaign faced problems due to the widespread blockade of the Palestinian territories by theIsrael Defense Forces.[citation needed] Despite Israel's assurances that it would do what it could to ensure that the election took place, in many instances Israeli forces actively interfered in the campaign.[citation needed] Among reported incidents was the arrest ofMustafa Barghouti by Israeli forces and his subsequent expulsion fromEast Jerusalem when he was going to hold an election speech there.[citation needed] He was also prevented from enteringNablus and Gaza.Bassam al-Salhi, candidate for thesocialistPalestinian People's Party, was also prevented from visiting East Jerusalem.[citation needed] Many of Abbas' opponents claimed that they were unfairly treated as Israel denied them entry to areas Abbas was allowed to visit during the election campaign. Abbas was the only candidate allowed access to Gaza.[citation needed]
Voter registration was hampered by closure of registration centers due to curfews, roadblocks and road closures.[citation needed] Registration staff and supervisors were detained.[citation needed] Israeli troops, used gas grenades andnoise in the vicinity.[citation needed] The CEC claimed a number of centers were raided.[9]
Particularly East Jerusalem was affected. According to the CEC, checking of the names of voters in the voters list was prevented. Also the polling was supervised by the Israeli postal authority. The votes were not counted at the polling centers themselves, but first transported to the Jerusalem electoral constituency office in Dahiyat al-Barid.[10] The CEC also said that voters were intimidated by recording the ID card numbers that were listed in the register and registration staff members were detained.[11]
The CEC said there were difficulties in accessing polling stations. InKhan Younis Israeli soldiers opened fire against a school used as a polling station and by roadblocks prevented thousands of people from getting to the polling stations.[12]
TheEuropean Union's foreign policy chiefJavier Solana criticized Israel for insufficiently easing restrictions and was quoted as saying that"Israel did not fulfill its commitment as it should have."[12]
Mahmoud Abbas won the election with 67.4% of valid votes cast; 62.5% when invalid and blank votes are included.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mahmoud Abbas | Fatah | 501,448 | 67.38 | |
| Mustafa Barghouti | Independent | 156,227 | 20.99 | |
| Taysir Khalid | Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine | 26,848 | 3.61 | |
| Abelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar | Independent | 22,171 | 2.98 | |
| Bassam as-Salhi | Palestinian People's Party | 21,429 | 2.88 | |
| Sayyid Barakah | Independent | 10,406 | 1.40 | |
| Abdel Karim Shubeir | Independent | 5,717 | 0.77 | |
| Total | 744,246 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 744,246 | 92.79 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 57,831 | 7.21 | ||
| Total votes | 802,077 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,092,407 | 73.42 | ||
| Source:CEC,IFES | ||||
These totals, documenting the results in each of the 16governorates of Palestine, also tabulate blank and invalid votes.[13]
| Governorate | Mahmoud Abbas Fatah | Mustafa Barghouti Independent | Taysir Khalid DFLP | Abelhaleem Hasan Abdelraziq Ashqar Independent | Bassam as-Salhi PPP | Sayyid Barakah Independent | Abdel Karim Shubeir Independent | Invalid votes | Blank votes | Total votes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Quds | 17,356 | 61.68 | 5,350 | 19.07 | 1,666 | 5.94 | 559 | 1.99 | 580 | 2.07 | 188 | 0.67 | 86 | 0.31 | 950 | 3.39 | 1,324 | 4.72 | 28,059 |
| Jenin | 41,663 | 62.26 | 12,065 | 18.03 | 4,029 | 6.02 | 1,427 | 2.13 | 1,865 | 2.79 | 513 | 0.77 | 181 | 0.27 | 2,765 | 4.13 | 2,410 | 3.60 | 66,918 |
| Tulkarm | 26,288 | 54.88 | 9,327 | 19.47 | 2,791 | 5.83 | 2,658 | 5.55 | 2,925 | 6.11 | 169 | 0.35 | 144 | 0.30 | 1,786 | 3.73 | 1,815 | 3.79 | 47,903 |
| Tubas | 10,324 | 67.50 | 2,389 | 15.62 | 933 | 6.10 | 257 | 1.68 | 157 | 1.03 | 66 | 0.43 | 52 | 0.34 | 510 | 3.33 | 607 | 3.97 | 26,188 |
| Nablus | 53,048 | 59.30 | 19,408 | 21.70 | 4,368 | 4.88 | 2,193 | 2.45 | 3,349 | 3.74 | 414 | 0.46 | 251 | 0.28 | 3,234 | 3.62 | 3,192 | 3.57 | 89,457 |
| Qalqilya | 14,187 | 63.57 | 4,496 | 20.15 | 655 | 2.94 | 347 | 1.55 | 559 | 2.50 | 144 | 0.65 | 51 | 0.23 | 904 | 4.05 | 973 | 4.36 | 22,316 |
| Salfit | 10,584 | 55.70 | 3,940 | 20.73 | 933 | 4.91 | 398 | 2.09 | 1,751 | 9.21 | 65 | 0.34 | 56 | 0.29 | 676 | 3.56 | 599 | 3.15 | 19,002 |
| Ramallah | 41,552 | 58.98 | 15,767 | 22.38 | 2,152 | 3.05 | 2,543 | 3.61 | 3,566 | 5.06 | 279 | 0.40 | 224 | 0.32 | 1,889 | 2.68 | 2,484 | 3.53 | 70,456 |
| Jericho | 8,698 | 74.89 | 1,603 | 13.80 | 205 | 1.76 | 109 | 0.94 | 338 | 2.91 | 38 | 0.33 | 15 | 0.13 | 275 | 2.37 | 334 | 2.88 | 11,615 |
| Bethlehem | 29,406 | 61.07 | 9,896 | 20.55 | 1,895 | 3.94 | 878 | 1.82 | 1,675 | 3.48 | 188 | 0.39 | 120 | 0.25 | 1,766 | 3.67 | 2,329 | 4.84 | 48,153 |
| Hebron | 59,912 | 60.65 | 23,004 | 23.29 | 2,579 | 2.61 | 1,914 | 1.94 | 2,274 | 2.30 | 653 | 0.66 | 298 | 0.30 | 3,909 | 3.96 | 4,236 | 4.29 | 98,779 |
| North Gaza | 36,550 | 67.62 | 10,670 | 19.74 | 825 | 1.53 | 1,826 | 3.38 | 495 | 0.92 | 432 | 0.80 | 594 | 1.10 | 1,603 | 2.97 | 1,061 | 1.96 | 54,056 |
| Gaza | 62,113 | 68.52 | 14,461 | 15.95 | 1,500 | 1.65 | 3,431 | 3.78 | 540 | 0.60 | 828 | 0.91 | 2,143 | 2.36 | 3,488 | 3.85 | 2,147 | 2.37 | 90,651 |
| Deir al-Balah | 28,944 | 66.44 | 7,803 | 17.91 | 653 | 1.50 | 1,272 | 2.92 | 550 | 1.26 | 939 | 2.16 | 384 | 0.88 | 1,832 | 4.21 | 1,190 | 2.73 | 43,657 |
| Khan Yunis | 37,733 | 62.01 | 10,255 | 16.85 | 992 | 1.63 | 1,208 | 1.99 | 348 | 0.57 | 5,014 | 8.24 | 830 | 1.36 | 2,980 | 4.90 | 1,488 | 2.45 | 60,848 |
| Rafah | 23,090 | 65.97 | 5,793 | 16.55 | 672 | 1.92 | 1,151 | 3.29 | 457 | 1.31 | 476 | 1.36 | 288 | 0.82 | 2,105 | 6.01 | 970 | 2.77 | 35,002 |
| Total | 501,448 | 62.52 | 156,227 | 19.48 | 26,848 | 3.35 | 22,171 | 2.76 | 21,429 | 2.67 | 10,406 | 1.30 | 5,717 | 0.71 | 30,672 | 3.82 | 27,159 | 3.39 | 802,077 |
The EU praised the election, withEuropean Commission presidentJosé Manuel Durão Barroso describing it as "a very important step towards the creation of a viable and democratic Palestinian state".[14]
.jpg)
