Palestinians about to go to polls 

cctv.com 01-09-2005 09:50

Polling stations open for the second presidential election in Palestinian history in about five hours. And the Palestinian Election Committee says the final result will be announced on Monday.

Today's election involves 11 electoral districts plus five in Gaza. The ballot boxes will be open from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. local time. Some 800 foreign observers representing various countries and non-governmental organizations, and about 20,000 local observers, will be at every election center to monitor the whole process. Palestinian officials and media have appealed to voters to cast their ballots. But there is no sign of any loosening of Israel's military grip around West Bank cities.

On Saturday, Palestinian presidential front-runner Mahmoud Abbas met former US president Jimmy Carter in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Abbas urged the Israeli government to honor its commitments to withdraw, and to remove the roadblocks in order to give the Palestinians the chance for free and fair elections.

Editor:Hu  Source:CCTV.com