Marwan Barghouti, the jailed Palestinian leader, was on Thursday under pressure from opponents and allies to withdraw his candidacy in the Palestinian Authority presidential elections, just a day after he registered.

His entrance into the race, to replace Yassir Arafat, who died last month, caused consternation, as it came less than a week after he gave his backing to Mahmoud Abbas, the candidate picked by the central committee of Fatah, the main Palestinian faction.