In the Arabic interview, Zahar said that Hamas is "delighted" by polls showing Fatah leading them, because he said the polls said the same in 2006, when Hamas rolled to a large victory over Fatah.Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar said Sunday that his movement would win a sweeping victory in upcoming legislative elections due in May.
The Hamas leader said that Hamas would gain a better percentage than their 2006 election victory, where they won 74 of an available 132 seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council.
Hamas has not yet made a decision about a presidential candidate, he added.
Zahhar made the remarks during an interview with London based pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
One fact about the 2005 local elections and the 2006 legislative elections that most people don't realize: Hamas won in the West Bank as well, not just in Gaza.
In the December 2005 local elections, Hamas won 73% of the vote in Nablus, 72% in Al Birah (Abbas' hometown), and a majority in Jenin. Only in Ramallah itself (where there are a significant number of people working, directly or indirectly, for Fatah) did Fatah manage to eke out a tie.
I don't know if that would happen today, but Hamas is much stronger in supposedly Fatah strongholds than most people know.