Monday, January 10 2005 22:10 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ramallah (West Bank): PLO chairman Mahmud Abbas has been elected Palestinian President with more than 62 percent of the votes cast, according to official results today (Jan 10, 2005).

Abbas obtained 62.32 percent of votes cast, streets ahead of his nearest rival Mustafa Barghuti who won 19.8 percent, the figures by the central elections commission said.

The moderate former Prime Minister received 483,039 votes, while 153,516 people voted for Barghuti, who stood as an independent.

Tayssir Khaled, standing for the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) won 3.5 percent of the votes, People's Party candidate Bassam Salhi 2.69 percent, independent candidate Abdelhalim Al-Ashqar 2.68 percent, Sayyed Barakah (independent Islamist) 1.27 percent and Abdelkarim Shubeir (independent) 0.67 percent.

Abbas, a moderate former Prime Minister, is expected to be sworn in as head of the Palestinian Authority at a session of Parliament on Wednesday.