Poll: Fatah wins by narrow margin

(VIDEO) A poll published by Bir Zeit University, one of two conducted by the Palestinians, indicated a narrow victory for Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party in Wednesday’s Palestinian elections.

The poll showed Fatah won 63 parliament seats (46.7 percent), with rival Hamas gaining 58 seats (39.5 percent).

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine won three seats, according to the survey of 8,000 voters in 232 polling stations showed.

However, initial results showed Hamas leads Fatah by a narrow margin, winning most of the 24 parliament seats in Gaza.

Palestinian pollster Khalil Shikaki said according to polls neither Hamas nor Fatah will win a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council.

"This will give the small groups and the independents a big chance to decide (who forms a government) ... It is possible that Hamas theoretically has the chance to form the next government," he said.

Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said "Hamas is making a huge progress ... Our information showed that Hamas is winning much more than any figure mentioned in the exit poll which has proven not credible."

Hamas supporters set off to Gaza city streets to celebrate.

Meanwhile, White House Spokesman Scott McClellan said "Hamas is a terrorist organization. Under current circumstances I don't see any change in that."

In Ramallah Fatah activists fired into the air upon reciveing word of the early polls indicating their victory.

“It was not an easy battle because Hamas played the religion card and swore people to the Quran,” a Fatah member celebrating in Ramallah told Ynet.

Tallying the votes in Gaza (Photo: Reuters)  

Polling stations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank closed their doors at 7 p.m., but voters who were inside continued to cast ballots.

The Elections Committee decided to extend voting by an hour in certain cities, including east Jerusalem, Nablus and Tul Karm, citing long queues.

The overall voter turnout rate stood at 77.7 percent, according to Palestinian officials.

Some 13,000 police and security officers stood outside the polling stations with rifles drawn to prevent any disruptions or outbreaks of violence.

Palestinians vote in east Jerusalem (Video: Reuters)

The poll was roughly in line with surveys ahead of the first parliamentary election in a decade.

A strong showing by Hamas in the election raised the possibility that the Islamic terrorist group, which is sworn to Israel's destruction, would join the Palestinian government for the first time.

'This is a democracy'

First reports of election violence surfaced in the afternoon, after Hamas members clashes with Fatah members and police officers in two villages near Hebron. Several people were wounded in the clashes, including one Palestinian policeman.

Earlier, several procedural complaints were registered in connection with the vote, but there were almost no gunmen near polling stations, and those who voted left their weapons outside.

The Foreign Ministry said the elections went smoothly, saying its operation room intercepted no reports of order disruption from journalists or international observers.

Former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia cast his vote in Abu Dis near Jerusalem. The Fatah candidate hoped “that the minority will receive the approval of the majority,” adding that his party will support Hamas should it win the vote. “This is a democracy and we will accept the elections result.

Most attention in early hours of the elections focused on the Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis, where a genuine elections atmosphere could be felt Wednesday morning and thousands of voters mixed with thousands of activists belonging to the various parties and groups.

Reuters contributed to the report