The ruling Fatah movement registered on Wednesday a joint list of candidates for the Palestinian parliamentary elections due on Jan. 25, after the group's rival wings presented two separate lists earlier, a senior Fatah official said.

Mohamed Dahlan, former Minister of Civilian Affairs, told a news conference held in the West Bank city of Ramallah that Fatah had decided to run in the elections with a unified single list.

"We have decided to run in the elections with one unified list in order to keep Fatah united and to achieve victory in the coming elections against our rivals," said Dahlan at the news conference.

Two rival Fatah lists were registered at the central elections commission on Dec. 14.

One list was officially approved by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who now leads Fatah, and the other, headed by jailed Fatah leader Marwan al-Barghouti, consisted of Fatah young leaders including Dahlan.

The two rival lists, indicating a split in the long-time dominant Fatah movement, would endanger the group's performance in the key January polls in which Fatah is facing a grave challenge from the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Dahlan also called on all Fatah members and supporters to vote for the movement, which has been the backbone of the Palestinian National Authority, adding that Fatah's platform follows realism in the Palestinian policies.

Hamas, which did well in the Palestinian local elections, is widely expected to have a good showing at the expense of Fatah in the coming legislative elections, its first parliamentary bid.

Source: Xinhua