Arabs Eye Palestinian Vote for Impact

01/25/2006

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - The Palestinian election is an important turning point in a cause dear to the Arab world’s heart, the struggle with Israel. But Arabs also have an eye on what the vote will mean for a newer cause: the drive for greater democracy in the region.

The parliamentary elections Wednesday in Gaza and the West Bank were the latest in a series of major votes in the Arab world over the past year - in Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and even Saudi Arabia.

The depth of democratic change these votes have brought has varied, from Lebanon’s vote in June that brought the first government in years led by anti-Syrian politicians to violence-marred balloting in Egypt that left many skeptical President Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic powers could be dented.

Many Arabs also remain doubtful about chances for democracy in Iraq, even after parliamentary elections in December. They point to the continuing U.S. military presence, the diminished role of the Sunni Arab minority and above all the violence that wracks the country.

But there was a widespread feeling in the Middle East that Wednesday’s vote will bring real change to a Palestinian political scene long dominated by the late Yasser Arafat and his Fatah movement.

The Palestinian legislative council “won’t be ... a mini-version of the dictatorial Arab parliaments. Its role won’t be just to clap and cheer for the president and approve his policies without debate,” Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper, wrote in a front-page editorial.

Syrian political analyst Ahmad Haj Ali pointed to the fact that the vote was held despite what many saw as reluctance from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah faced tough competition from the Islamic militant group Hamas.

“These elections could be a model for all Arab countries” to start the process of democracy without waiting for the right time to do it, Haj Ali told The Associated Press from Damascus.

The two major Arab news networks, Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera, gave blanket coverage to the voting - airing live reports throughout the day from Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, interviewing voters, as well as Israeli officials and civilians in the street.

Al-Arabiya reeled out graphics of swirling streamers in the red, white and black colors of the Palestinian flag with the title, “Palestine votes.”

A main focus of the coverage was whether Fatah - seen by some as having grown corrupt and domineering in its hold on power - can reform itself and make room for Hamas.

“Do you think Fatah will pay the price for corruption in this election?” a moderator asked Fatah officials and analysts in a round-table discussion on Al-Arabiya. “What guarantee is there for people that Fatah has changed?”

While fears were expressed of a violent struggle for power between Fatah and Hamas, most saw the vote as a chance to unify the Palestinians to face Israel, whether in negotiations or in armed resistance - a cause that still has widespread sympathy in the Arab world.

The elections are “instrumental in ending the current anarchy inside the Palestinian territories,” said Samir Abdullah, a Palestinian university student in Damascus.

“These elections ... will put an end to the era of dictatorship by one party or faction in decision-making in Palestinians political life,” Atwan said. “They will set the cornerstone for new nationalist institutions based on merit and probity ... and will establish a nation of law.”

Still, democratic gains among the Palestinians don’t necessarily translate to reform elsewhere. The Arab world tends to see the Palestinians as a separate case, absorbed in dealing with Israeli occupation.

“I think they’re accustomed to seeing the Palestinians acting different from other Arab regimes,” said Rime Allaf, an associate fellow at the London-based Royal Institute for International Affairs.

And Arab skepticism may only increase if the election doesn’t lead to progress in the peace process.

“The elections won’t solve the problems of the occupation, exactly like Iraq,” Jordanian columnist Tareq Masarweh wrote in the Al-Rai newspaper.