1/9/2005 Polls were forced to stay open for several hours longer than scheduled due to a massive turnout (especially in rural areas). According to exit polls Abbas is headed for big victory as was expected. While there were no major disturbances during the voting, Palestinians have accused Israel of not carrying out a promised easing of its military grip on the West Bank and Gaza for the vote.
Abbas Campaigns in Nablus | A Democratic Exercise in Futility | Elections Under Fire | Abbas Calls for Peace Talks After Poll | Slave Sovereignty | On the Narrow Shoulders of Abu Mazen | Israeli Bar on Voting Slammed | The Election Buzz

12/12/2004 Jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barguthi has quit the Palestine presidential race for a second time. Fatah leadership had threatened to expel Mr Barghouti if he did not withdraw his candidacy. On December 1st Barghouti had officially entered the January 2005 presidential election more...
Abbas apologises to Kuwait | Palestinian presidential candidate arrested at border | Israeli soldiers beat election candidate | Interview With Wife Of Marwan Barghouti

11/26/2004: Marwan Barghuthi has announced that he will not run in upcoming Palestinian elections and will instead be throwing his support behind former prime minister Mahmud Abbas. Barghuthi had come under pressure from his Fatah faction to drop out of the race after he had indicated he planned on running.
Palestine: Uncertain times | Crowded field for Palestinian election | Hamas Likely to Run in Presidential Elections

11/16/2004: Elections to choose a successor to Yasser Arafat as president of the Palestinian Authority are to be held on January 9th.
Following Arafat's death, Mahmoud Abbas was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Palestinians' highest decision-making body, and Palestinian parliament speaker Rawhi Fattouh was named interim Palestinian president. Rumors that Abbas was chosen by Fatah as their candidate in the upcomming election have been circulating in the press, but Abbas denies that he is running. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades says it is opposed to Mahmud Abbas as Yasir Arafat's successor and would instead back jailed West Bank Fatah leader Marwan al-Barghuthi. A spokesman said: "We do not support Abu Mazin [Abbas] for the election and we have decided to vote for Marwan Barghuthi to be our candidate for president." The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) along with four other Palestinian factions have agreed to field a joint candidate in the presidential elections. The PLFP and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), boycotted the previous Palestinian election in 1996 rejecting Arafat's interim peace deals with Israel.
Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad say they will boycott the upcoming Presidential election since they want a wider general election and "unified leadership".
Al-Barghuti wants top Palestinian post | Abu Mazen (Mahmud Abbas) Survives an Assassination Attempt | Free Marwan Barghouti