11 candidates for the PLO Executive; including Hanan Ashrawi, Mustapha Barghouti

According to Maan, the Palestinian National Council chairman Salim az-Zanoun has announced that there are eleven candidates running for the six vacant seats (out of a total of 18) in the Executive Committee of the PLO. The six will be elected at the upcoming PNC session in Ramallah. Az-Zanoun shared the names of five candidates in the race; Hanan Ashrawi, Abdul Raziq Al-Yahyah, Saeb Erekat, Ahmad Al-Majdalani and Mustapha Barghouti.

PFLP: Palestinian National Council meeting should stick to its agenda

From Maan;

Gaza – Ma'an – The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) on Monday announced its rejection of additional items to the agenda of an urgent convention of the Palestinian National Council (PNC).

The leftist Palestinian faction said only one item should be discussed during the session: updates to the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee membership.

According to Abu Ahmad Fuad, a member of the PFLP's politburo, some Executive Committee members and Palestinian faction leaders sought to add other items to the session's agenda. He warned that adding anything new would be in violation of the 14th article of the Palestinian Basic Law, and could escalate tensions.

Fuad also stressed that the PNC session not impede the national dialogue between Hamas and Fatah, nor replace the 2005 agreement between all Palestinian factions to reconstruct the PLO.