A Palestinian man views a succession of campaign posters for Mahmoud Abbas, one of six Palestinian Authority presidential candidates on the Jan. 9 ballot. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England| Carter Center Slideshow (2005)
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon prior to the Palestinian elections. Sharon pledged Israeli cooperation during the balloting on Jan. 9. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England
Mahmoud Abbas, known to Palestinians as Abu Mazen, meets with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter prior to the presidential election. Abbas was overwhelmingly elected leader of the Palestinians, with 62 percent of the vote, and took office Jan. 15 All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England
Presidential candidate Mustafa Barghouthi (right), meets with President Carter and NDI President Ken Wollack preceding the election. Barghouthi, a participant in the Center’s Human Rights Defenders Conference in 2003, was arrested immediately following this meeting with the observation team. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England
A Palestinian woman places her vote inside the ballot box. Despite a boycott by Hamas and impediments to voters, the turnout was about 65 percent, and there was no serious violence either by the Palestinians or Israelis. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England
Delegation chairs Jimmy Carter (second from right), Christine Todd Whitman (second from left), former governor of New Jersey, and Carl Bildt (center), former prime minister of Sweden—aided by a translator (right)—discuss the election with a Palestinian voter. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England
To insure against fraud, Palestinian voters’ thumbs were marked with indelible ink as they submitted their ballots. All Photos:The Carter Center/ T. England
An election official checks for this voter’s name on the official list. At one point during the election, at the main polling station in Jerusalem, only one official—with a single list containing 3,500 names—was processing voters, leading to a significant delay. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England
President Carter, joined by members of the observation delegation as polls open, discusses preparations for the day with an election official. Also pictured, from left: Christine Todd Whitman; delegation translator; Matthew Hodes, director of the Center’s Conflict Resolution Program; Carl Bildt; and David Carroll, interim director of the Center’s Democracy Program. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England
During a Jan. 10 press conference with international media, delegation leaders issued a preliminary postelection statement calling the elections “a major accomplishment” and urging continued advancement toward peace. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. Englnd
The election of Mahmoud Abbas has ushered in a new era, which many—including these Palestinian boys—hope will be a season of peace and prosperity. All Photos: The Carter Center/ T. England
