When Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued the election decree Jan. 15, many expected that his Fatah party's biggest challenge would come from political rivals Hamas and renegade Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan. 

Dahlan’s participation was quickly discounted when the head of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission, Hanna Nasser, told a press conference Jan. 16 that no one with a criminal conviction in Palestinian court (which Dahlan has) could run for any office. Supporters of Dahlan are likely to run in a separate list, but they are not expected to get more than five of the 130 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). 

The biggest problem facing the Fatah leadership has been the popular and imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who insists on running for president. A visit by Hussein al-Sheikh, the minister of civilian affairs and a member of Fatah’s Central Committee, to the Israeli prison where Barghouti is held Feb. 11 did little to change his insistence. Barghouti was reportedly offered to head the Fatah list for the Palestinian Legislative Council elections and to name 10 members of the list.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Barghouti told Sheikh during his visit to prison that he welcomes the “historic decision to hold the elections” and the success of the dialogue between the main Palestinian factions held Feb. 7-9 in Cairo. According to Sheikh, Barghouti “called for the widest possible turnout to polling centers during the upcoming elections,” which he reportedly said was the main pathway toward ending Palestinian division and restoring national unity.