keywords: abbas arafat palestinian fatah mahmoud
text: Fatah Party Chooses Abbas As Its Candidate (AP) AP - The ruling Fatah party chose Mahmoud Abbas as its candidate to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority in Jan. 9 elections, a Palestinian official said. Abbas, 69, Arafat's longtime deputy as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization, has already been named head of the PLO.