![Palestinian president halts primary elections amid voter fraud allegations](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [BBC profile] Tuesday suspended primary elections of his ruling Fatah movement [party website in Arabic] amid election fraud said to be prevalent in Gaza and the West Bank. Primaries in the Gaza Strip were cancelled [BBC report] on Monday after Fatah gunmen stormed some polling stations alleging unfair voting. The primary elections were the first for Fatah and come ahead of January's parliamentary election where Islamic group Hamas is seen as a strong challenger to Fatah. Last week, voters in primaries in the West Bank voted against Fatah politicians, selecting newcomers and militants. Reuters has more. Aljazeera has local coverage.