World : Arafat Up for Palestine Presidency
The Palestine Liberation Organization executive committee has nominated Yasser Arafat as president of the state of Palestine, a PLO spokesman said today.
The PLO Central Council will vote on the nomination when it meets Friday in Tunis. Spokesman Ahmed Abderrahman said if Arafat is elected, he will stay in office until democratic elections could take place in the independent state, which was declared at a meeting in Algiers last November.
Abderrahman said many states recognized the state of Palestine, and it was awkward for Arafat to write to heads of state and appoint ambassadors while he remained only PLO executive committee chairman.
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