Hamas gains share of power in Palestine

In the first Palestinian parliamentary elections in a decade, the ruling Fatah Party fell short of a majority in the 132-seat parliament, with the militant group Hamas thrusting itself onto the political scene, exit polls showed late Wednesday



Exit polls suggest that the ruling Fatah party has won a narrow victory in the first Palestinian parliamentary elections for a decade.

The first official poll gave Fatah more than 46%, compared to 39.5% for Islamic militant group Hamas. Both Fatah and Hamas have said they will consider a coalition if there is no clear winner. Voting has been brisk, with turnout at 73%, the election commission said. In the West Bank, 70.6% voted, while in Gaza the figure was 76.8%.

Observers say the elections were peaceful, and one EU official said the vote was an example to the Arab world.

Sources and Opinion from around the globe BBC , CNN , Reuters , Washington post , MSNBC , Al Jazeera , Jerusalem Post , Xinhua (China) , Peoples Daily (china) , Kerala (India) , Daily Times (pakistan) , Dar Al Hayat (Saudi Arabia) , Moscow Times (Russia) , Islam Online .