Sharon crisis must not halt Palestinian vote: Barghuti
In a message printed in Palestinian newspapers, Barghuti also condemned the security chaos in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks at the hands of militants loyal to Barghuti's own Fatah faction.
"The Palestinian Authority should avoid making any connection between the health of Sharon and the election date," said Barghuti in his first address since Tuesday's start of campaigning for the January 25 ballot.
"The election is a national Palestinian issue and it must not be linked to any foreign concerns such as what is happening in Israel with Sharon."
Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas has said he sees no reason why Sharon's demise should lead to a postponement of the election.
However, he also vowed to cancel the polls unless he gets a guarantee from Sharon's government that Palestinian residents of occupied and annexed east Jerusalem can take part.
The Israeli government had been due to make a final decision on east Jerusalem in a matter of days but Sharon's brain haemorrhage means that the verdict has slipped down the list of priorities.
Barghuti, who heads the list of Fatah candidates despite serving five life sentences in an Israeli jail, also criticised the conduct of members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, an armed offshoot of Fatah, who ran amok in the southern Gaza Strip earlier this week.
In a bid to secure the release of a local leader who was arrested over the kidnapping of three Britons, Al-Aqsa followers stormed a series of government buildings in the town of Rafah before bulldozing their way through a wall on the Egypt border. Two Egyptian border guards were killed in the ensuing mayhem.
"We deeply regret and strongly condemn what happened in Rafah. The Egyptians who died should be accorded the status of martyrs," said Barghuti whom is alleged by Israel to be the leader of Al-Aqsa.