RAMALLAH, West Bank, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti announced Wednesday he will run as an independent candidate for Palestinian president in the Jan. 9 elections.
A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Barghouti's wife, Fadwa, Fatah official Qadoura Farres and Palestinian National Assembly minister Jamil Tarifi visited Barghouti in prison, where he told them he had decided to run.
The source said Fadwa would register Barghouti in Ramallah as an independent candidate in the presidential elections.
In Haiti Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday the candidacy would be "problematic."
Last week, Barghouti said he would not run in the elections as a Fatah candidate, clearing the way for Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
