By Xinhua,
Ramallah : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party has nominated him as its candidate for next presidential elections, a senior Fatah official said on Saturday.
“Fatah is ready to run in the presidential elections and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is the movement’s candidate for the elections,” said Ahmed Qurei, the chief Palestinian peace negotiator.
President Abbas won the last presidential election in January 2005 after the death of late President Yasser Arafat, while Hamas, the biggest Islamic faction, did not stand for that election.
A year later, Hamas defeated Fatah in parliamentary elections and formed a coalition government with Fatah, before Abbas fired it June last year when Hamas violently took over the Gaza Strip.
In the course of their differences, Hamas said it will not recognize Abbas as the president when his term ends on Jan. 25, 2009.
In a move to make reconciliation with Hamas, Abbas said he is ready for dialogue with the Islamic movement with a Yemeni initiative proposed earlier to end the feud between the two movements.