The secretary general of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), Nayef Hawatmeh, on Sunday cast doubt over the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Abbas as a representative of the Palestinian people.

Hawatmeh said that the Palestinian Legislative Council elections of 2005 and 2006 were unrepresentative as they only included the votes of 40% of the Palestinian population.

"Therefore, neither the presidency, nor the PLC represent the Palestinian people," said Hawatmeh.

Appealed for new elections on the basis of "full proportional representation, excluding any kind of political monopoly."

The DFLP leader said "the Palestinian situation now stands at a crossroads; either to enter into a full deterioration or to bring the situation back from when Hamas and Fatah signed the national agreement of June 2006, when they held bilateral deals which led to the inferno of civil war and the dominance of Hamas in the Gaza Strip."

Hawatmeh continued, "No one can claim to represent the Palestinian people since the last presidential and PLC elections, as they represent only 40% of residents in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem, and 60% of the Palestinian people did not elect anyone."