The names of the PLC candidates in Qalqilia were widely believed to be one of the movement’s best kept secrets. However, on Sunday morning, December 4, the Islamic movement went public with the names of its candidates in the constituencies and the movement’s lists, a move that took the other factions by surprise given how fast the announcements were made.
In an interview with PNN, Fateh Revolutionary Council member and Fateh treasurer said, "We were with brother (Prime Minister) Ahmad Qurei’ and a number of leaders on Sunday night and we came out with an idea of how the primaries should be held.
Candidates should be chosen through the ballot boxes and not by appointment. I personally refuse to be chosen through appointment. Tuesday has been set as the date for holding the elections."
Earlier, Hazza’ said, "Holding the Fateh primaries in this fashion is unacceptable because they include people who have nothing to do with Fateh. They could even be from other movements, which constitute a weak point in choosing true representatives of the movement in the PLC elections."
Hazza’ continued, "Nearly 14,000-15,000 questionnaires were completed in the district but the names were not reviewed. Therefore, there is a move to form a membership committee to study the names and delete anyone who has no connection to Fateh."
Islamic movement candidate for constituencies, Dr. Khader Sundak who is a lecturer of Islamic Shariya at Al Najah University told PNN: "I had no problem in becoming a candidate because the goal of the elections is to serve the Palestinian citizen.
Therefore, there is no room for disputes among us. When the Petah Tikva interrogator asked me if I wanted to run in the PLC elections, I told him that my running in the elections is aimed at serving my people and no person or party could prevent me from this."
The other Islamic movement candidate, Sheikh Mohammed Muslih Nazzal said candidates on the Islamic movement’s constituency list were chosen by Shura methods where the candidates were named with all transparency.
Qalqilia governor, Mustapha Malki who also heads the committee overseeing the Fateh primaries said, "The elections were cancelled because of the escalating disputes within Fateh."
Naim Al Ashqar, coordinator for the primaries committee confirmed the governor’s statements about the disputes between Fateh members over membership questionnaires. Some members say the number of these questionnaires did not exceed 4,000 while others say 20,000 were completed.
