Palestinian Poll

Abu Aardvark posts a Khalil Shikaki poll showing a tight race for the Palestinian Presidency, with Mahmud Abbas narrowly edging Marwan Barghouti and the Gaza Strip of all places providing his margin of victory. Many have commented that Abbas is not very popular with the Palestinians, but I suspect he can win if he makes himself simply the least objectionable. However, I'm not sure what to make of any polling done in these matters. For one thing, there's not much of a track record for Palestinian voting behavior. What's more, the West Bank and Gaza Strip seem like the sort of places where you might run into some voting irregularities. Abbas, of course, is in a better position to bring about such irregularities than Barghouti.