Abbas chosen as Fatah candidate for Palestinian presidential elections

"The Fatah central committee has chosen Abu Mazen (Abbas) as its candidate for the presidential elections on January 9," the official, who is a member of the faction`s decision-making body, told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The acting head of the Palestinian Authority, Rawhi Fattuh, had earlier confirmed that elections would take place on January 9, at the end of a 60-day mourning period for Arafat who died on Thursday.

Abbas, who is a former prime minister, was appointed head of the PLO last week in the aftermath of Arafat`s death in a Paris hospital.

The 69-year-old lacks broad popular support but his election would be warmly welcomed in both Israel and the United States.

While Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and US President George W. Bush boycotted Arafat, both men played host to Abbas during negotiations last year.

The bilateral peace process has made next to no progress since Abbas quit as prime minister in September 2003 after a bruising battle with Arafat for greater control of the sprawling Palestinian security apparatus.

Although its popularity has been dented in recent years amid widespread disillusionment at the corruption and incompetence within government, Fatah remains comfortably the largest of the Palestinian factions.

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