Palestine’s Fatah votes in landmark internal polls

By Anees Barghouti

RAMALLAH (AA) – Members of the Palestinian Fatah movement began Saturday to elect members of the group’s Revolutionary Council and Central Committee in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Composed of 21 party members, Fatah’s Central Committee is the group’s main decision-making body and is responsible for all its activities.

The 50-member Revolutionary Council, meanwhile, is the movement’s highest legislative body.

A total of 65 candidates are vying for 18 seats in the Central Committee in the voting, which is held on the sidelines of Fatah’s seventh general congress.

Four more members will be chosen by the committee’s elected members, who will include a woman – if none was elected – a Christian and a security member, according to the official Wafa news agency.

Fatah leader Mahmud Abbas, meanwhile, will choose a candidate for the 23rd seat, the agency said.

Meanwhile, some 436 members are competing for 80 seats on Fatah’s Revolutionary Council.

An additional 50 members from the security forces, diaspora and prisoners will be later added to the council, bringing the total number to 130 members.

Final results are expected to be announced on Sunday.

More than 1,400 Fatah members are attending the five-day congress, which is slated to wrap up Saturday in Ramallah.