Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal is asking to step down but the Palestinian Islamic movement has not decided on his demand, a Hamas official said Monday.

"Mashaal has asked to be exempted from his post for years, but his requests have always been rejected," the official Salah al- Bardaweel told Xinhua.

Sources recently said that Mashaal has told his colleagues that his decision to quit was final this time. However, al-Bardaweel said that the Shura council of Hamas, which stands as the parliament of the movement, has the final word on Mashaal's desire.

The resolutions of the Shura council are compulsory, and Mashaal will stay for another term as the head of the Hamas' decision-making body if the council assigned him.

Mashaal renewed his position during a meeting for Hamas leadership in Cairo last week. The meeting came after the Islamic movement finished its confidential partisan elections in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The sources said that Hamas has yet to complete the ballot among its activists outside the Palestinian territories.

The sources said the elections in Diaspora will not complete before the end of this year. After they complete, the head and members of the new political bureau of Hamas could be announced.

Mashaal has apparently been unable to stay in his position because he has left his longtime base in Damascus and has been moving since then between Egypt and Qatar. He mostly stays in Qatar where he is not allowed to practice political activities, according to the sources.

Ismail Haneya, the Hamas premier in Gaza, and Mashaal's deputy Moussa Abu Marzouq are possible candidates to take over the politburo if Mashaal eventually went out.

The sources said that Arab officials push for Mr. Abu Marzouq to be the new politburo chief, given his moderate and open trends, especially with regard to Palestinian national reconciliation.