Israel's ruling Kadima party carried out its primary on Wednesday, with four current ministers competing to succeed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as party chief and possibly as premier.
Polls are scheduled to last 12 hours till 10 p.m. local time (1900 GMT), and some 74,000 registered members of the centrist party are eligible to vote at 114 polling stations in 93 different locations across the Jewish state.
Results of the first-ever primary of the Kadima party since it was formed three years ago are not expected till late into the night, as the voting is not computerized.
The winner, to be chosen among Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter and Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, will become the third Kadima leader.
Two latest opinion polls, respectively conducted last week and earlier this week, showed that Livni, 50, was likely to beat her major rival and former Defense Minister Mofaz, 55, and the other two candidates, with over 40 percent of votes to avert a possible second round. Should there be a second round, she would also defeat the other frontrunner, according to the polls.
Livni cast her vote in her hometown of Tel Aviv, and is set to tour other voting stations later in the day. At the polling booth, the frontrunner called on all Kadima members to cast their vote. "The change begins here, at the polling booth," local news service Ynet quoted her as saying.
The report added that the Shin Bet security agency recently decided to significantly beef up Livni's security measures.
A low turnout could harm Livni, as Mofaz's supporters are expected to be more committed to him and more likely to vote, local daily The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday, quoting Kadima officials as saying that they would be satisfied with a turnout of55 percent.
Mofaz voted at a station in the central Israeli city of Kfar Saba. He told reporters that "I feel wonderful... I stand by the statement: I will win."
Earlier this week, the military veteran brushed off the opinion polls, saying that following an in-depth study of the Kadima members, he believed that he would win in one round with 43.7 percent of the votes.
According to the survey last week, Livni received higher scores than Mofaz in terms of the ability to handle economic, educational and welfare issues, and of the incorruptibility, while Mofaz overtopped Livni in the ability to handle security-related issues.
Although trailing Livni and Mofaz in polls, a confident Sheetrit was quoted as saying on Wednesday morning that "I believe the voters will prove the polls wrong."
For his part, Dichter said he was "cautiously optimistic," yet would support whoever else wins the election. "At the end of the day, if I don't win, I will stand behind the winner and move forward with Kadima," he was quoted as saying.
The current prime minister, embroiled by a series of police probes, has announced that he would not contend in the race and would step down as soon as the party chooses its new leader. He is scheduled to cast his vote in Jerusalem in the afternoon.
Yet local media on Wednesday quoted Israeli political analyst Yaron Deckel as saying that Olmert would not tender his resignation letter to President Shimon Peres until late September or most probably early October.
Olmert's spokesman Mark Regev refused to comment on the report, reiterating Olmert would keep his promise to resign after the Kadima chooses his successor.
By law, once Olmert resigns from the premiership, he would become caretaker prime minister and remain in power till the formation of a new government, a task expected to be assigned to the new Kadima chair by President Shimon Peres following consultations with parliamentary factions.
A maximum of three rounds of cabinet-making efforts are allowed, which may take from a few days to three months. Should such efforts fail, early general elections will be held, probably in the spring.
In the earlier survey, over half of the respondents believed that Livni has a better chance of forming a new government, as compared to 29 percent who believed in Mofaz. Yet the military veteran pledged Sunday that he could set up a new coalition by Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year's Day that starts at sunset on Sept. 29.
The Kadima race is expected to cast significant influence over the peace negotiations with the Palestinians, as Livni, who has been leading Israel's negotiating team, has said that she will push forward the talks on the basis of the current format, while Mofaz is slated to take a relatively hardline position.
Yet both have expressed their displeasure with the seemingly hasty moves by Olmert to secure a so-called "shelf agreement" with the Palestinian side by the end of the year.
Little visible progress has been achieved since Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pledged at a U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis late November to reach a comprehensive peace agreement within 2008.
While Abbas have repeatedly expressed skepticism about the ambitious goal, Olmert remains upbeat, reiterating that significant progress has been achieved. The outgoing premier met with Abbas on Tuesday night for what is widely seen as his last-ditch efforts for an agreement within the year.
Meanwhile, Palestinians officials have said that the Palestinians will continue to cooperate with Olmert, as long as he stays in power, and with whoever succeeds him, to push forward thepeace efforts with the goal of working out a comprehensive solution to the historical conflict.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article