Three polls indicate that the race for President of the Palestinian Authority is nearly even between Fatah choice Mahmoud Abbas and independent candidate Marwan Barghouti. Two of the polls indicate the race is practically a dead heat while the third gives a slight advantage to Abbas.

Abbas represents the establishment of Fatah or the 'old guard.' He returned to the Palestinian territories after the signing of the Oslo Agreements which he helped negotiate on behalf of late PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Until recently, Abbas lacked popular support but was a trusted advisor or Arafat. He is considered a moderate and favors negotiations with Israel to end the Middle East conflict.

Barghouti represents the younger generation and has more popularity on the Palestinian street. While Barghouti initially favored the Oslo Accords, he later favored the use of violence against Israelis. He is presently serving five consecutive life terms in an Israeli prison for his involvement in terrorist activities including the planning of suicide bombings.

The first poll was conducted by Bir Zeit University which is located on the West Bank. It gave Barghouti a 35 percent to 34 percent lead over Abbas. Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducted the second poll which gave Abbas 40 percent and Barghouti 38 percent. The final poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion gave Abbas a comfortable lead of 40 percent to just 22 percent for Barghouti.

Some analysts believe Barghouti is running to make sure that Abbas makes consessions on certain issues and pays attention to the younger generation of Palestinians. If he gets the necessary concessions, he would withdraw and support Abbas. Others believe that Barghouti will attempt to actually run the PA from his jail cell if he indeed wins the election.

Barghouti's main support came from the poor and less educated according to the Bir Zeit University poll. The Palestinain elections are scheduled for January 9th.