Unofficial results show Mahmoud Abbas as Arafat's successor

RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Mahmoud Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president by a wide margin Sunday, exit polls showed, giving him a decisive mandate to renew peace talks with Israel, rein in militants and try to end more than four years of Mideast bloodshed.\nThe victory of the staid and pragmatic Abbas, who has spoken out against violence and has the backing of the international community, was expected to usher in a new era, after four decades of chaotic and corruption-riddled rule by Yasser Arafat, who died Nov. 11.\n"We, the Palestinians, are drawing our future with our own hands. We will be the symbol of democracy and freedom," said Aya Abdel Kader, 45, a lawyer voting at a Gaza City school.\nAbbas, popularly known as Abu Mazen, has promised to reform the Palestinian Authority, overhaul the unwieldy Palestinian security services and quickly resume negotiations with Israel, stalled for four years.\nHowever, his political objectives are the same as Arafat's: a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, and a solution for Palestinian refugees and their descendants.\nAfter results of three exit polls were announced -- giving Abbas between 66 and 69.5 percent of the vote -- his supporters celebrated in the streets. In the West Bank city of Hebron, motorists honked horns and waved Abbas posters. In Ramallah, gunmen fired in the air.\nIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon expects to meet with Abbas soon, his aides said. Israeli officials said that in a gesture to Abbas, Israel plans to release some of the more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners, provided Abbas stop militants from firing rockets at Israeli towns.\n"I think this vote shows a change in the Palestinian street" moving away from support of violence, said Sharon aide Raanan Gissin.\n"We certainly welcome this and hope that from this mandate Abu Mazen will lead the Palestinian people on the path of reconciliation," he added.\nPolls were open for 14 hours. The election, the first presidential vote in nine years, proceeded largely without interruption. In one incident, gunmen fired in the air in an election office, and in Jerusalem voters complained of confusing arrangements.\nFinal results were to be announced Monday morning.\nAccording to three exit polls, Abbas' main challenger, independent Mustafa Barghouti, won 20 percent, while the remaining five scored in the low single digits.\nBarghouti complained that the Central Election Commission had changed rules in mid-game by extending voting by two hours and by allowing voters to cast ballots at any location, rather than where they lived or registered.\nAnalysts have said Abbas needs at least 60 percent support to resume negotiations with Israel. "(Abbas) has a mandate from the voters," pollster Khalil Shekaki said of the exit polls.\nFearing a low turnout, the Central Election Commission kept the polls open two extra hours, until 9 p.m., citing logistical problems.\nOne election official said the move came amid heavy pressure from Fatah, which was concerned a low turnout could weaken Abbas.\nIn Jerusalem, Palestinians and international observers complained of confusion over registration lists, and Palestinians accused Israel of trying to intimidate them.\nBy prior agreement with Israel, only about 5,000 of 120,000 eligible voters in Jerusalem -- a city both sides claim as their capital -- were permitted to vote in post offices in the city. The others had to vote in suburbs.\nBacked by Fatah's formidable machine, Abbas was nearly assured of victory well before the vote when his toughest competition, jailed uprising leader Marwan Barghouti, pulled out and the largest opposition group, Hamas, declared a boycott.\nRegardless, many saw the vote, which Arafat had repeatedly delayed, as a hopeful sign the Palestinians were building a democratic foundation. Palestinian leaders have already scheduled a parliamentary election for July 17.