Abbas wins Palestinian Presidential election

The AP reports:

Mahmoud Abbas won 66 percent of the vote in the Palestinian presidential election Sunday, according to an exit poll.

Such a margin of victory would give Abbas a clear mandate to renew peace talks with Israel, rein in militants and reform the corruption-riddled Palestinian Authority.

Abbas' main challenger, Mustafa Barghouti, won 19.7 percent of the vote, according to the poll conducted by the independent Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

Perhaps peace might be edging closer to reality.