By Xinhua,
JERUSALEM : Preliminary results of Israel’s general elections released on Wednesday morning showed that the centrist Kadima party won the most seats in the new parliament, but its edge is seen too limited to send its chief Tzipi Livni to the prime minister’s office for sure.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni waves to supporters. Livni’s Kadima party won a razor-thin victory in the Israeli election Wednesday, gaining one more seat than right-wing rival Likud, according to a final ballot count.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni waves to supporters. Livni’s Kadima party won a razor-thin victory in the Israeli election Wednesday, gaining one more seat than right-wing rival Likud, according to a final ballot count.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu also announced that he would become the next premier, as the right-wing bloc, led by his center-right Likud party, appeared to have secured a majority in the 120-seat parliament, and the potential king-maker, the Israel Beiteinu party, voiced an intention to form a right-wing government.
Both front-runners have embarked upon their bids to set up a new government. Livni said that the Israeli public has chosen Kadima and that “no one can deny the wishes of the voters”, while the rightward-leaning parliament apparently gave her rival an upper hand.
With nearly 100 percent of the ballots cast during Tuesday’s 15-hour-long election counted, the results showed that based on the percentage of votes each party garnered, Kadima won 28 seats, just one seat more than Likud’s share.
Among the other 10 parties that passed the two-percent minimum threshold to the parliament, the ultra-nationalist Israel Beiteinu party and the center-left Labor party were found to respectively gain 15 and 13 seats, followed by the right-wing ultra-Orthodox Shas party with 11 slots.
Altogether, right-wing parties secured 65 seats, enjoying a clear superiority over the center-left bloc, led by Kadima and Labor, which skidded to its lowest position in the parliament in the party’s 41-year history, indicated the preliminary findings.
Israel’s Likud Party Chief Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and his wife leave a polling station after casting their ballots in Jerusalem, Feb. 10, 2009. Israel started a day-long general election on Tuesday morning to choose its next parliament and premiership.
Israel’s Likud Party Chief Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and his wife leave a polling station after casting their ballots in Jerusalem, Feb. 10, 2009. Israel started a day-long general election on Tuesday morning to choose its next parliament and premiership. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
The counting did not include ballots cast in advance by voters in Israel’s overseas missions and the army, which many said were enough to keep alive the possibility that Likud might eventually catch up with or even overtake Kadima.
The full count is expected to be completed by Thursday evening, and the Central Elections Committee is scheduled to publish the official results on Feb. 18.
Following the publication of the official figures, President Shimon Peres will hold consultations with leaders of parliamentary factions and then assign the cabinet-making task to a lawmaker who has the best chance of success. Traditionally the mission goes to the leader of the biggest party in the parliament.
“We will lead the next government of Israel. We must respect the choices made by the voters,” said a cheerful Livni early Wednesday morning after exit polls conducted by local TV channels found similar results, adding that she is willing to bring Likud on board.
However, it is not a sure case. Due to the daunting fragmentariness of Israel’s political realm, she has to cobble together a coalition that enjoys a majority in the parliament, before she would become the second woman premier in Israel’s 61-year history.
In light of the right-wing bloc’s majority, Likud appears to face a brighter cabinet-making picture in the expectable intense political jockeying that is already underway. A defiant Netanyahu told his supporters that “the nationalist wing led by Likud is victorious” and that “our platform won and we will lead the people.”
Palpably to Livni’s dismay and Netanyahu’s delight, Avigdor Lieberman, chief of Israel Beiteinu, the projected third largest party, echoed Netanyahu in claiming a victory of the rightist bloc, and voiced his intention to join a national right-wing government.
Meanwhile, Labor chairman Ehud Barak told a party meeting on Wednesday morning that he planned to steer the party towards the opposition instead of the ruling coalition. Other senior members have also said that Labor must sit in the opposition and consolidate itself in order for a forceful return.
Labor’s possible retreat is all but certain to bedevil Livni’s cabinet-making efforts, as she would have to pull more seats on the other side over to her disadvantaged side, while Netanyahu would by no means loose his grasp on any of them.
By Israel’s basic laws, the first prime minister-designate has at most 42 days to form a new government. Should the process fail, the president may entrust the task to a second lawmaker, who then has 28 days to finish the mission. In case of another failure, a third lawmaker might be tasked with a 14-day time limit.
Late last year, Livni failed to piece together a cabinet to replace the caretaker one led by outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, bringing forth the general election a year ahead of its original schedule.
Until the new government is formed, Olmert, who was forced to resign amid a corruption scandal, will remain in office.