Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah party on Saturday held a vote for members of its ruling bodies that could give clues to a possible successor to the ageing leader. Fatah, the oldest Palestinian party, is holding its first congress in seven years at a time when Abbas is seeking to quell dissent in the face of internal rivalries.
The 81-year-old has not publicly designated a successor, and the vote will be an indicator of the strengths and weaknesses of the various factions in Fatah. Casting his ballot on Saturday afternoon, Abbas called the polling "democratic and transparent".
According to a recent poll, two-thirds of Palestinians are dissatisfied with Abbas and want him to resign. The congress comes with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014. The 1,400 delegates voted at Abbas's Ramallah headquarters in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and also in the Gaza Strip where several dozen were stranded after Israel refused them passage through its territory to Ramallah.
They are to choose 18 members of the party's Central Committee, its highest body. Abbas will appoint another four. The congress will also elect 80 members of the Fatah Revolutionary Council - the party's parliament. Another 40 council members are directly appointed.
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