New PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas has emerged as the clear contender to replace Yasser Arafat a day after jailed West Bank Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti said he would not be taking part in the presidential runoff in six weeks.
Barghouti's announcement headed off a potentially destructive rift in the dominant Fatah movement, leaving Abbas as the top candidate to take the place of Arafat, who died just over two weeks ago.
Abbas gets clear run
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