Palestinians Head to Polls to Choose Leader

By Liane Hansen,

Published January 8, 2005 at 11:00 PM CST

Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza hold elections to choose Yasser Arafat's successor to lead the Palestinian Authority. The presidential elections are the first in nine years.

Mahmoud Abbas, the 69-year-old former prime minister, is expected to win in a field of seven candidates. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and NPR's Peter Kenyon.

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Weekend Edition

Liane Hansen

Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.

Peter Kenyon

Peter Kenyon is NPR's international correspondent based in Istanbul, Turkey.

See stories by Peter Kenyon