Military

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE= PALESTINIAN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS L-O

NUMBER=2-321305

BYLINE= LARRY JAMES

DATELINE=JERUSALEM

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

HEADLINE: Palestinians Vote in Municipal Elections in Run-up to Presidential Ballot

INTRO: Palestinians went to the polls (are going to the polls) in municipal elections today (Thursday), the first such balloting to be held in 28 years. VOA's Larry James reports from Jerusalem.

TEXT: All indications showed a good voter turnout in 26 communities throughout the West Bank, where nearly one thousand

candidates are competing for about 300 seats on various local councils. The last municipal vote was held back in 1976.

Thursdays balloting is seen as the run-up to the January 9th elections for a successor to Yasser Arafat as president of the

Palestinian Authority.

The municipal elections are also viewed as an important step toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. Prime Minister

Ahmed Qureia said as much as he cast his ballot in the West Bank town of Abu Dis which is just outside Jerusalem.

Mr. Qureia also called the balloting the start of democratic elections in our country.

Several problems were encountered including delayed opening at polling places due to the late arrival of ballots. But, there

were also signs of a determined effort by the various political factions to mobilize their supporters and get them to the polls.

In the West Bank town of Jericho, activists organized private cars to form a shuttle service to get out the vote.

The balloting is the first since presidential elections in 1996 that voted in Yasser Arafat president of the Palestinian

Authority.

It is seen as a test of the level of support the mainstream Fatah faction and its candidate former Prime Minister Mahmoud

Abbas really have. Recent polls show Fatah as the most trusted faction in Palestinian politics scoring a 42 percent rating

compared to just 26 percent last June. The political wing of the Islamic militant group Hamas has slipped from 22 percent to

20 percent in the same polls.

Next year, voting will likely take place in an additional 600 towns and villages, with a total of 1.2 million voters. (SIGNED)

NEB/LDJ/MEM