Hamas tells Palestinians to shun January ballot
* Hamas says election decree issued illegally
* Analysts say clash over ballot may be tactical
By Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA, Oct 28 (Reuters) - The Islamist group Hamas told Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday they should not take part in January elections called by Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the rival Fatah movement.
The Interior Ministry said Abbas's call for parliamentary and presidential ballots on Jan. 24 was issued without the agreement of Hamas and other factions and was illegal.
"Any preparations, any committees, any collecting of names will be regarded as an illegal action that we will pursue," said spokesman Ehab Al-Ghsain.
He said the ministry had instructed local officials not to cooperate with Abbas, whose secular party dominates political life in the West Bank but has been all but driven out of Gaza.
Hamas said its decision would include banning the current Central Election Commission (CEC), which has five offices in Gaza, from operating on orders from Abbas.
Ghsain said the current CEC was no longer entitled to carry out preparations for an election, since Palestinian factions including Hamas and Fatah had agreed in Egyptian-mediated unity talks that a new body should be formed.
In the West Bank, the CEC meanwhile asked staff who worked on past elections to get in contact in the West Bank and Gaza in order to prepare for the forthcoming campaign.
Hamas drove Fatah out of Gaza in 2007 and the two factions remain bitter rivals.
Unlike Fatah, Hamas has so far resisted signing a draft reconciliation pact brokered by Egypt, which would have set June 28, 2010 as the date for the next election.
Political analysts say the clash over the elections may be tactical, leaving both sides with room to climb down. Abbas has said he could delay a vote if Hamas agrees to reconcile, and Hamas has said it could take part in an election next summer.
A diplomat close to the Cairo-sponsored talks said Abbas would be left with no choice but to go ahead with the January election should there be no agreement in the next two months.
A Palestinian jurist said Abbas could not now delay the election, having issued a presidential decree, unless parliament consented. The parliament is currently not functional as a result of Hamas-Fatah divisions.
Some Hamas leaders say the Islamist group may decide to conduct a separate election in Gaza in January, which would prolong divisions and turn Gaza and the West Bank into separate geographical and political entities. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi)
