Election Irregularities: Palestinian civilians still being denied access to al-Mawasi

Mustafa Barghouti, the main rival to PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Sunday's presidential election, has denounced what he called irregularities in the vote and claimed that the ink used in some polling stations to mark voters' thumbnails could be removed.

"Two gross violations have been committed during the electoral process," Mr Barghouti told reporters before casting his ballot at a school in Ramallah.

He also slammed the publication in a newspaper on Sunday of an advert by the promoters of an unofficial peace initiative which called on voters to back Mr Abbas, even though campaigning was meant to end on Friday night.

"The indelible ink with which all who have cast their ballots are marked in order to ensure that they only vote once, and to ensure no double voting, can in fact be wiped out with saliva or washing," his campaign said in a statement.

The statement said the report only concerned the ink used in some polling stations in the Gaza Strip and three in the West Bank, without specifying which.

"This can only mean that the indelible ink in these centres has been replaced with removable ink, and the situation sheds serious doubt on the fairness, accuracy and legitimacy of the election process," it added.

"I am demanding that the CEC (central elections commission) investigate these violations," said Mr Barghouti who is around 30 points adrift Abbas in most opinion polls.

An AFP reporter who voted in east Jerusalem tried to remove the ink tag with soap, then alcohol, acetone and finally with a chemical product provided by a pharmacist and meant to remove any type of ink, but to no avail.

Mr Barghouti and Mr Abbas, who is the official candidate of the ruling Fatah party, have stepped mutual accusations in the closing stages of the campaign.

On Saturday, a senior source in Mr Abbas' campaign said Mr Barghouti had received the support of Hamas leaders, who allegedly instructed the Islamist movement's supporters to vote for him despite an official call to boycott the election.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1279131.htm