RAMALLAH, Dec. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- Abdel Sattar Qassem, a Palestinian professor and independent candidate from the West Bank city of Nablus announced on Monday that he has decided to quit the presidential election due on Jan. 9, 2005.

    Qassem, professor at the al Najah University in Nablus, was the third candidate to declare withdrawal from the presidential election race.

    "The election will be held faraway from principles of free and fair elections," he told reporters, adding that there are many evidences showing that the election is not democratic or fair.

    Hassan Khreishe, acting speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), announced last week that he decided to retreat from the race.

    According to the election law, Khreishe could not run as an independent candidate while as PLC speaker at the same time.

    He had to resign so as to participate in the race. Thus, Khreishe finally decided not to run.

    On Sunday, jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, who had been hesitant on whether to run in the election, declared that he decided to quit the race, while voicing support to the Fatah's candidate Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee.

    Barghouti's decision would help maintain the unity of the mainstream Fatah movement, and avoid splitting the movement into two groups -- one supporting him and the other supporting Abbas.

    The 46-year-old Fatah leader was sentenced to five life terms inprison by an Israeli court after being convicted of plotting the murder of at least four Israelis and a Greek monk in June 2004. Enditem