Ten candidates will run in the Palestinian Authority's presidential election to replace Yasser Arafat, officials said today.
Heading the list for next month's poll was Mr Mahmoud Abbas, Yasser Arafat's successor as the head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, as well as Mr Marwan Barghouthi, a leader of the Palestinian uprising, who is serving five life sentences in an Israeli jail.
Mr Abbas, a moderate who will be representing the mainstream Fatah faction, had been seen as the frontrunner in the election until Mr Barghouthi's candidacy was submitted shortly before a deadline last night.
Mr Barghouthi, the most popular choice among Palestinians to succeed Mr Arafat, told his wife during a prison visit that he wanted to run in the election as an independent candidate.
His candidacy has upset Mr Abbas's chances and thrown the Palestinian political arena into turmoil. Palestinian officials have called on Mr Barghouthi to withdraw his candidacy to maintain unity among Palestinian ranks.
Candidates have until midnight on December 15th to withdraw their candidacy.
The Central Elections Committee said so far 71 per cent of the Palestinian electorate, or 1,282,524 Palestinians, had registered to vote.
The snap election was called to replace Mr Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority after he died of an undisclosed illness at a French hospital.
The eight other candidates are:
- Abdel Sattar Qassem - Independent
- Bassam Salhi - Palestine People Party
- Tayssir Khaled - Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
- Abdel Karim Shbier - Independent
- Hassan Khreisheh - Independent
- Abdel Halim al-Ashqar - Independent
- Alsaied Barakah - Independent
- Mustafa Barghouthi - Independent