Mahmoud Abbas was named as the candidate for the Palestinian Authority presidency by the Central Committee of Yasser Arafat's Fatah party on Monday. Fatah is the strongest of the many factions that made up the PLO and that makes Abbas the favorite in the January 9th elections.

The decision was voted on by 13 members of the Central Committee of Fatah who represent the 'old guard' in Fatah, veterans of the PLO mostly in their 60s and 70s who spent most of their time with Yasser Arafat in Tunnis, Lebenon and Jordan over the years. The vote was unanimous.

There is, however, a wild card in the Palestinian electoral process. Younger members of Fatah, who rose to prominance during the first Intifada which began in 1987, are suspicious of Abbas, 69, who has long been viewed as too moderate. They support another candidate, Marwan Barghouti, age 45. Barghouti is charismatic and much more militant than Abbas. In fact, Barghouti was one of the founding members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, a terrorist organization within Fatah that has taken responsibility for many suicide bombings and other terrorist acts.

Barghouti is also in jail. He is serving five consecutive life sentences in an Israeli prison for murder due to his involvement in acts of terror. Still, the younger generation of Fatah supporters believe that Barghouti has the one thing that Abbas does not: the support of the Palestinian street. In fact, in a poll Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research conducted in September (before Arafat's death), Barghouti had 22 percent of the people's support for vice-president while Abbas had only two percent.

Many people want to run Barghouti as a candidate for the presidency in part because they support him and in part as a protest against the Israel for jailing the man they consider to be their leader.

Others recognize that Barghouti's candidacy is simply not practical. 'The idea of nominating Marwan from jail seems out of all practical requirements for the coming period,' said PA Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath. 'President Arafat was in a semi-jail in Ramallah, and it was so difficult, so the idea was not really seriously contemplated. But no doubt Marwan remains a highly appreciated Fatah leader for the future.'


The peaceful resolution to this split within Fatah is one major key to holding violence free elections in January.

'There's a major crisis in Fatah. How are we going to face it?' said Dayseer Nasrullah, a Fatah official in Nablus. 'If it were in my hands, I'd call a conference to elect a new leadership and kick out all the old guard.'

One key issue in the Palestinian elections is Abbas' stance on the so-called 'right of return' for Palestinian exiles who want to claim land that is now in Israel that they were displaced from in wars dating back to 1947. Abbas has already stated that he supported the 'right of return' which may allow him to get the support of some more militant Fatah members.

The 'right of return' has been a major issue for Israel because if all four million Palestinians who claim a right to 'return' to Israel did so, there would cease to be a Jewish majority in the country.

'Abu Mazen (Abbas) knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that there are people who will not allow him to cross the line,' said Nasser Jumma, 38, one of the top al-Aqsa leaders in the West Bank.

Clearly, Abbas will face pressure from the young guard to be tough on Israel and pressure from the United States to negotiate with Israel. He has a difficult task ahead in the quest for peace in the Middle East.