*Delegates prevented from leaving Gaza vote by phone

*Jailed activist Barghouti seen winning Committee seat

By Douglas Hamilton BETHLEHEM, West Bank, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Palestinians waited on Monday to learn the makeup of the Fatah movement's new leadership, but slow voting by delegates stranded in the Gaza Strip suggested the marathon congress would go to an eighth day.

About 300 delegates prevented from leaving the coastal enclave by its Islamist Hamas rulers voted by phone for 18 seats on the executive body, the Central Committee, and 80 on the assembly, or Revolutionary Council.

"They're on speaker phone and there are three people noting down their votes. Its a very time-consuming process and the lines tend to keep dropping," said Fatah member Kifah Odeh.

The count was postponed twice on Monday to allow more time to collect the Gaza ballots.

The congress of the main Palestinian movement began last Tuesday with about 2,000 delegates attending in the West Bank town of Bethlehem. Most of its proceedings have been held behind closed doors.

President Mahmoud Abbas, 74, was reaffirmed unopposed as leader in a show of hands that made it impossible to tell if anyone voted against him.

However, critics say he is weak, and the convention, Fatah's first in 20 years and the first on Palestinian soil, may not strengthen his position.

Fatah is the main Palestinian political movement and is ready to negotiate a peace deal with Israel. However, it is struggling to reverse a decline in popularity. Abbas has no vice-president and no natural successor waiting in the wings.

Jailed activist Marwan Barghouti, 50, looks certain to win one of 18 available seats on the Central Committee, as it seeks what Abbas said must be a "new beginning".

Barghouti, a popular and articulate figure once seen as a successor to Yasser Arafat, is serving a life sentence in Israel on charges of organising the killing of Israelis.

"Barghouti could be a good leader for Fatah because he has leadership qualities. People like him, and Fatah is dependent on popular support," said Mundhir Amira, 39, a reformist party member.

A controversial figure seeking a Central Committee seat is Mohammed Dahlan, reviled by Hamas supporters over crackdowns he led against the group when he was head of Fatah-dominated Preventive Security service in the Gaza Strip in the 1990s.

"Dahlan could have been a leader but now its difficult for him to lead the party because of what happened in Gaza, even though he does have good leadership qualities," said Amira.

Proponents of change in a party that critics accuse of living in the past would like to see fresh faces on the Central Committee.

Younger members say they can offer change, if the veterans get out of the way. However, only nine of the 18 elected seats are not being contested by incumbents. (Additional reporting by Erika Solomon, Mustafa Abuganeyeh and Mohammed Assadi) (Editing by Andrew Dobbie)

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