Official: banned Gaza Fatah congress members to vote by telephone

BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- A senior Fatah party official revealed on Friday that it was agreed that Fatah congress members, who were banned by Gaza Hamas rulers to travel, will vote to elect the group's new leadership by telephone.

Fatah central committee member Nabil Shaath told reporters that it was agreed with the central committee and the congress leadership that Gaza congress members can join the election by voting through their cellular phones on Saturday.

Hamas movement, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, banned the travel of around 400 Gaza Fatah members to attend the congress meetings that started on Tuesday in the biblical holy city of Bethlehem.

Meanwhile, Palestinian sources closed to the conference told Xinhua that Gaza Fatah strongman Mohamed Dahlan agreed to run in the elections for the central committee and compete with 85 other candidates.

Registration for candidates was closed on Friday afternoon, where 85 senior Fatah leaders, including Dahlan, are racing in the internal electoral process to elect 18 members for the group's central committee.

Around 500 members are also racing for the membership in the new revolutionary council. Around 2,500 congress members will start voting on Saturday to elect a new central committee and a new revolutionary council.

The sources said that Gaza Fatah congress members who were not able to travel to Bethlehem "will join the election and vote through their personal cellular phones."

"After this agreement was reached, Dahlan, who leads the Gaza Strip representation in the conference agreed to register to run for the central committee membership," said the sources.

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Abu al-Najja, a senior Fatah leader and member in the congress welcomed the agreement that Gaza Strip Fatah congress members, who were not able to physically attend the congress, will be able to join in the voting.

"We informed the conference leadership that we reject the idea of just giving the Gaza Strip as limited quota in both the central committee and the revolutionary council. We wanted to participate in the voting process," said Abu al-Najja.

Dahlan is facing a tough competition in the central committee elections, said the sources, adding that senior Fatah leaders Ahmed Qurei, Abu Alla and Jibril al-Rajoub are leading in the competition against Dahlan.

The congress was supposed to last for three days. However, it was extended until Friday following "stormy" debates on issues related to late leader Yasser Arafat's death, Gaza representation in the congress and the negotiations with Israel.

The sources said that the internal elections for all the congress members will take place in Bethlehem on Saturday, expecting that the results will be declared in the evening.