Mahmoud Abbas won a landslide victory with almost two-thirds of the vote. The question is: is this large enough for a clear mandate to renew peace talks with Israel, to rein in militants and to unite the Palestinian Authority?

Amid hours of cheering from Palestinian crowds, Mahmoud Abbas declared victory. But despite the cheers, Abbas confirmed that major challenges lay ahead.

He said: "We are facing more hard tasks ahead as to how to find a decent way of living for our people and a way to liberate our prisoners��and stopping the pursuit by the Israelis against our fellow countrymen, and building the Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital."

The way of leading Palestinians to peace and security is full of thorns.

Analysts say, for Abbas, winning the election is just a beginning.

Wang Suolao, Assoc. Professor of Peking University, said: "Abbas faces many difficulties because the deadlock has been there for years. The first problem for him is how to take strong measures to fully stop the bloody conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians. The second problem is how to unite all parties within the Palestinian government. Some extremists, like Hamas, just despise any efforts made by the government toward peace talks but act according to their own will and rules."

As the successor to Yasser Arafat, Abbas has been regarded as a mild pragmatist and low-profile leader who oppose violence toward Israel. But peace talks need effort and compromise from both sides. How far can the postponed peace talks be promoted by the two sides this time is unclear.

Source: CCTV.com