Parties worried about cancelation of Palestinian elex

A Palestinian election candidate expressed concern Tuesday at reports that Palestinian Authority plans to call off elections due to take place next month.

ur Odeh, who's standing for Horriyeh (Freedom) list, said postponing vote would be tantamount to cancelling it.

Egyptian officials said that PA plans to cancel elections - first for 15 years - citing Israel's refusal to allow voting in east Jerusalem.

decision would effectively grant Israel a veto over holding of elections, though President Mahmoud Abbas could also benefit from cancelling a vote in which his fractured Fatah party is expected to lose power and influence to Islamic militant group Hamas.

officials said Egypt is in talks with Israel to reach a compromise to allow vote, but those efforts have so far failed.

"We are extremely concerned, and we invited and called on or lists to join forces to protect rights of all Palestinian voters to participate in this election and to choose ir representatives," said Odeh.

Palestinian Election Commission says 6,000 voters in east Jerusalem would need to submit ir ballots through Israeli post offices in accordance with past agreements while or 150,000 could vote with or without Israeli permission.

small number of voters who require Israeli permission are unlikely to have a decisive impact on vote, but ir participation is seen as symbolically important for maintaining Palestinian claims to east Jerusalem.

Israel has t said wher it will allow m to vote.

y also provide a pretext for Abbas to cancel a parliamentary election that his Fatah movement is expected to lose badly.

Fatah has split into three rival lists, paving way for Hamas to emerge as biggest party in parliament.

Israel and international community, which view Hamas as a terrorist group, would also quietly welcome delaying or cancelling vote.

Hamas' landslide victory in 2006 parliamentary elections sparked a crisis that culminated with militant group seizing Gaza from Abbas' forces and confining his authority to parts of occupied West Bank.