Amid a turnout of more than 70% of registered voters, both organizations accused each other of fraud. Final results will not be announced until Sunday, but they are certain to be disputed. About 20 masked men raided two polling stations in Samaria and stole three ballot boxes. In Gaza, Hamas members accused Fatah thugs of shooting a Hamas supporter after an argument at a polling station.
PA election officials said that preliminary results gave Fatah 55% of the vote and a victory in 51 localities. Hamas appears to have won 28 local councils, with the support of about one-third of the voters, the same level of support recorded in the first round of local elections earlier this year. Officials in the PA, ruled by Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, expressed satisfaction with preliminary results, after fearing an increase in power for Hamas.
However, Hamas charged that the PA threatened voters that they would not receive social welfare payments if they did not vote for Fatah candidates, according to Mohamed Ghazal, a Hamas leader in Shechem.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - a terrorist faction responsible for the assassination of Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi and for plotting the murder of former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef - won in Christian villages near Bethlehem, according to exit polls, while Hamas won most of the council seats reserved for Muslims. Fatah claimed early victory in Rafiach, bordering Egypt, although actual results show that Hamas has apparently won the election there. Hamas won in Kalkilya, adjacent to the Sharon-area city of Kfar Saba. Kalkilya is the next city to be turned over the PA following IDF withdrawals from Jericho and Tulkarm over the past two months.
A third round of local elections will be held later this year, and the PA legislative assembly is to be elected in July.
PA election officials said that preliminary results gave Fatah 55% of the vote and a victory in 51 localities. Hamas appears to have won 28 local councils, with the support of about one-third of the voters, the same level of support recorded in the first round of local elections earlier this year. Officials in the PA, ruled by Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, expressed satisfaction with preliminary results, after fearing an increase in power for Hamas.
However, Hamas charged that the PA threatened voters that they would not receive social welfare payments if they did not vote for Fatah candidates, according to Mohamed Ghazal, a Hamas leader in Shechem.
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - a terrorist faction responsible for the assassination of Tourism Minister Rechavam Ze'evi and for plotting the murder of former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef - won in Christian villages near Bethlehem, according to exit polls, while Hamas won most of the council seats reserved for Muslims. Fatah claimed early victory in Rafiach, bordering Egypt, although actual results show that Hamas has apparently won the election there. Hamas won in Kalkilya, adjacent to the Sharon-area city of Kfar Saba. Kalkilya is the next city to be turned over the PA following IDF withdrawals from Jericho and Tulkarm over the past two months.
A third round of local elections will be held later this year, and the PA legislative assembly is to be elected in July.