Delegates to the conference of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party continued debating a plethora of complex issues Thursday morning, according to dpa. The debate led one delegate to surmise that crucial votes to elect the party's Central Committee and its Revolutionary Council could be delayed. Voting had originally been scheduled to take place on Thursday evening. The conference opened in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Tuesday. Delegates from the Gaza Strip are demanding one-third representation in the Central Committee, and in Revolutionary Council. The demand is opposed by the delegates from the West Bank. Some 18 of the 21 seats on the Central Committee, and 70 of the 120 seats on the Revolutionary Council, are chosen by elections. The remaining seats are appointed after the elections. Wednesday's deliberations at the conference, the first Fatah convention in two decades, were described as "stormy" after angry delegates found out that the existing Central Committee had prepared no report of the movement's spending and actions over the past 20 years. Abbas had to intervene and said the transcript of the more than two-hour address he made at the opening session Monday, in which he had outlined Fatah's history, could serve as the desired report. But that sparked accusations he was covering up the failures of the Central Committee. Attending delegates, who number more than 2,000, also argued over procedure.
