Saturday, February 12, 2011

Erekat resigns as PA announces September elections


ASSOCIATED PRESS
02/12/2011

Chief peace negotiator says he will step down from position; elections appear to be response to protest that ousted Egypt's Mubarak.

A top aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the Palestinians will hold presidential and legislative elections by September.

The move appeared to be a response to the popular protests that drove Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to step down late Friday.
Amid the announcement of new elections, Abbas' chief peace negotiator, Saeb Erekat, also announced he was resigning.

Elections were supposed to have been held last year, but the vote was put off because of the split between Abbas' government in the West Bank and the rival Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas aide Yasser Abed Rabbo announced the plans for elections at a press conference Saturday. He did not give a date.

Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, said the group would "not take part in this election," in response to the announcement.

"We will not give it legitimacy. And we will not recognize the results," said Barhoum.

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