Erekat fights the new battle of Jericho

"OUR life will never be the same after these elections."

These were the words of Dr Saeb Erekat, the man responsible for the holding of the first Palestinian poll which, he believes, will "give us legitimacy on the international scene and with our own people".

"We committed many mistakes and we admit them," the former National Authority election commissioner conceded. "We plan to build on these elections to establish a political system [with] accountability and transparency," he added.

Dr Erekat, who served on the Palestinian delegation to the 1991 Madrid peace conference and signed the election agreements, is proud of the fact that the Palestinians managed to secure a Jerusalem constituency" in spite of severe Israeli opposition.

Having resigned his position in the Palestine Authority a month ago in order to declare his candidacy in Jericho, where he was born in 1948, Dr Erekat is standing for Mr Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction of the Authority.

Yesterday, the last day of campaigning, he had a full schedule beginning with a walk round the shops to urge merchants to vote, a meeting in the early afternoon with women and a series of small gatherings round town lasting late into the night.

The meeting at the Jericho Women's Club, located in a small room on the roof of the Hisham Palace Hotel at the town centre, was Dr Erekat's 73rd. The room was filled to capacity with cheerful, respectful women, the majority wearing headscarves and conservative Islamic dress.

He began his speech by urging them to vote, explaining what the election meant and describing the next stage of the peace process.

"So far," he said, "we have liberated 31 per cent of our land [in Gaza and the West Bank] and the negotiating process for the rest begins on May 31st. Our borders, the return of our refugees, the presence of Israeli settlements will be discussed in these negotiations." He assured them: "There will be no peace without Jerusalem."

Dr Erekat made no promises to "rebuild everything that was destroyed during the occupation. I cannot promise you roads and schools and a hospital because we have no money. We are beggars. And I will not promise you what I cannot deliver."

As the candidate most likely to succeed over his five rivals, including an uncle running as a communist, Dr Erekat can afford to be honest with Jericho's 12,500 voters.

Patrick Smyth European Correspondent, adds:

The Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Spring, will join Italian and Spanish EU foreign ministers in Palestine this weekend as part of a mission to emphasise the EU's commitment to the election process. The EU is responsible for the international monitoring operation in Saturday's poll.

The troika, led by the Italian minister Ms Susanna Agnelli, will have lunch on Sunday with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Simon Peres with whom Mr Spring has a strong personal rapport.

They will then travel on to the election headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah where they will give a press conference. The delegation will meet Mr Arafat that evening in Gaza before returning to Jerusalem.

Mr Spring returns to Dublin on Monday evening.