The Palestinian parliament Wednesday okayed a new electoral law, a necessity to hold the July17 legislative elections on time.

The 84-member Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), or parliament, approved the third and final reading of the new law after days of wrangles with 35 lawmakers voting in favor, 20members opposing and one abstention. Twenty-eight legislators did not attend Wednesday's session.

The new law raises the number of PLC members from 84 to 132 and stipulates that two-thirds of them shall be elected by constituencies while the remaining seats shall be allocated by percentage of votes that parties get in a single national ballot. The passage of the law came after legislators bickered for days on the number of lawmakers and the method by which the new legislature will be chosen.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and some legislators of his Fatah movement called for holding the elections solely on proportional representation.

Lawmaker Zeyad Abu Zayad said Abbas has sent a letter to the parliament on Wednesday, urging it to approve choosing all lawmakers from party slates.

Abbas, who is currently visiting China, also insisted on holding the elections on time, Zayad added.
 
The new law has to be approved by Abbas before coming into effect. Observers said if the Palestinian leader vetoes the legislation, it could delay the elections for a few weeks. In addition, some senior Fatah members called for postponing the elections in order to secure a better chance for the long dominant but embattled group to win.

With a strong performance in recent municipal elections, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the largest Islamic group bent on Israel's destruction, has posed a grave challenge to Fatah. Some Fatah members urged the parliament to delay the ballot until after an Israeli pullout from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank, arguing the withdrawal will be a big achievement, an important factor for Fatah to gain the upper hand in the elections. Fatah legislator Abdel Karim Abu Salah told reporters on Wednesday that the scheduled date, July 17, for holding the elections "is not holy and unchangeable."

But calls for postponement have drawn fierce opposition from Hamas, which threatened to quit a conditional ceasefire with Israel that the group agreed upon during a dialogue with Abbas in mid-March if the elections were held off.

Sami Abu Zuhri, Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told reporters that the Islamic group insisted on holding a timely ballot and that postponement "is against the highest interests of the Palestinian people."

Competition has been tense between the two groups as both claimed victory in the second stage of municipal elections held on May 5.

Hamas said it won a majority in the 84 local councils across the West Bank and Gaza, while Fatah announced that it won 56-60 percent of all the seats.

A Palestinian civil court decided on Tuesday night to re-hold the voting in the populous Rafah city in southern Gaza Strip after Fatah accused Hamas of violating election rules. Initial counting showed that Hamas has won there.

Thousands of Fatah supporters then took to the streets in Rafah to celebrate the court's ruling.

The coming legislative elections will be the second of its kind since 1996 when the current parliament was elected shortly following the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority. Subsequent calls for elections have never been translated into polls as many Palestinian officials asserted that no election could be held under an Israeli occupation.

Hamas' participation in the polls will be the first time in its history.

(Xinhua News Agency May 19, 2005)