Between Discipline and Demagoguery

by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem

Whoever wants to know the difference between Fatah and Hamas need only have observed the behavior of the members and leaders of both sides on the night the votes were counted. The conduct of both sides was highly interesting and worthy of study, offering a strong indicator of the organizational condition of each, of the leadership style distinguishing each of them, of their outlook toward themselves and toward the other, and of how they receive news and then act upon it. This, of course, is reflected in the political, social, financial, and moral performance of each.

I spent some time on the night the votes were counted at Hamas’s election center in Nablus, located in the city’s main square, where large numbers of people are usually found, and where celebrations, festivals, and marches typically converge. The numbers coming in from the vote-counting centers astonished everyone present at the center, and were nearly beyond belief, to the point that one of those present said the representatives at the counting centers were not telling the truth. Hamas’s numbers far exceeded Fatah’s in most locations across the West Bank and Gaza, and it was clear that Hamas was heading toward a major victory and would win a majority in the Legislative Council. Despite this, calm was the general character of the atmosphere inside the election center.

The situation outside the election center, where Fatah’s members and supporters had gathered, was different. We could hear victory chants and the Fatah anthem, especially the song “Ghallaba ya Fatah, ya thawratna ghallaba” (“Victorious, O Fatah, O our victorious revolution”). The sound of gunfire rang out for hours in celebration of the great victory they believed Fatah had achieved. I went out into the square and found many Fatah gatherings, each chanting whatever it saw fit, or listening to victory speeches. Not a single gathering was free of heavy gunfire. I asked one of the Fatah members what had happened, and he told me, “We crushed them, Hamas isn’t for the people.” I shook my head and patted him on the back.

I walked around Nablus to have a look at the vote-counting locations. I saw lines of cars blaring their horns without restraint, with young men inside them shouting in jubilation as they raised Fatah flags. I saw one convoy of cars blaring their horns and carrying Hamas flags. The same scenes repeated around the counting centers. There were those following the numbers, and there were those celebrating.

…the ballot box.

The names of winners appeared on some satellite television screens before the counting process had even finished. Some of these began holding banquets and distributing baklava and kanafeh, and did not stint on the gunfire, which flashed across the sky of Nablus, for their supporters. By contrast, I told one Hamas candidate that he appeared, from the numbers, to be winning, and he said, “Praise God in any case, and we’ll wait for the morning.”

Nablus grew quiet in the pre-dawn hours, after the numbers had made their weight felt upon the exhausted celebrants. Shouting, chanting, jumping, the mizmar, and the dabke had worn them out, and there was now room to listen to the numerical deliberations. People finally had the chance to enjoy a calm that had not been interrupted by those who had been certain they were winning. All that could be heard were quiet cries of takbir and tahlil, which did not disturb anyone or provoke anyone.

The demagoguery of the media was no less intense. Arab media, Palestinian and non-Palestinian alike, did not stop for weeks before the Palestinian elections broadcasting poll results that gave Fatah the majority. Many important Arab satellite channels gave the matter prominence at the top of their newscasts and on the news ticker at the bottom of the screen. The anchor did not stop at reciting the news, but would comment, saying that Fatah was heading toward a great victory. One Arab satellite channel spent a large portion of its credibility when it confidently published the names of winners who turned out to have trailed away in defeat. It seems that the gap between its reporting and the clear reality on the ground struck one candidate with a shock that landed him in the hospital.

These media outlets, like the polls, were not fair, in that they devoted far more time and extensive coverage to Fatah’s candidates and supporters than to the candidates and supporters of the Islamic and leftist lists, and showed favoritism toward Fatah’s supporters in their commentary. Anyone watching the satellite channels notices, strongly and clearly, the bias in the media, even to this moment.

I knew before the elections that Hamas’s own private, unannounced polling indicated that the movement would win the elections. But all the individuals and leaders who were in the know maintained silence and calm. And so as not to cause confusion or disruption to the voting and counting process, Hamas’s members saw fit to tell pollsters that they had voted for Fatah. This was not to deceive the pollsters, but to deceive Fatah’s followers, who were widely believed likely to burn the ballot boxes if they sensed that defeat was coming, owing to their lack of discipline. The polling centers were not accurate before the elections, and their inaccuracy increased on election day itself. Thus discipline triumphed over chaos.

Source: Translated from the original Arabic, “بين الانضباط والغوغائية” by Dr. Abdul-Sattar Kassem.