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Peretz, feeling 'optimistic'
Photo: Niv Calderon
Barak, wants to win
Photo: Niv Calderon
MK Pines
Photo: Niv Calderon
MK Ayalon, a leading candidate
Photo: Niv Calderon
MK Danny Yatom
Photo: Ofer Amram

Labor primaries: 58 percent turnout

Ballots open Monday morning as Peretz arrives at Sderot branch amid Qassam attack. Despite polls favoring Ayalon and Barak, Peretz feels 'optimistic'

Twelve hours after the ballots opened Monday morning, 58 percent of the Labor Party's registered voters had already placed their vote for Labor chairman primary elections.

 

Ballots will close at 9 pm, and preliminary results will be announced later Monday night.

 

Three of the five candidates, Ehud Barak, Ami Ayalon and Amir Peretz have already placed their votes.

 

Remaining candidates Ophir Pines and Danny Yatom will be placing thier votes later on in the day.

 

Upon former prime minister Ehud Barak's arrival to the ballot, he was met with supporters calling out: "Here comes the next prime minister". Barak nonetheless, said he felt "cautios optimism", and asked his supporters to "work until the last minute".

 

As Labor Chairman and Defense Minister Amir Peretz arrived at the ballot in his hometown of Sderot, a Color Red alert sounded and the defense minister was evacuated to a safe place by his bodyguards.

 

Peretz himself was not alarmed by the alert, and said that he felt "excellent and optimistic" and that he planned to win the elections.

 

Immediately after the alert was sounded, three Qassam rockets landed in the southern town, damaging a building and lightly wounding one man.

 

"We have been holding on for seven years," Peretz said after the attack, and asked his men to calm down, "Hamas will realize that we do not plan to back down… we will continue in our democratic lives. If there is an answer to terror, it's the fact that the State of Israel lives and breathes and in Sderot, elections are being held."

 

Peretz addressed Sderot's residents, asking them to show up and vote. "Hamas won't deter Sderot's residents," he added.


Barak placing his vote (photo: Niv Calderon)

  

Leading candidate Ami Ayalon arrived at the ballot near his home along with his wife, and received much praise from bystanders.

 

"In a Labor Party under my leadership, there will be no camps," Ayalon said. Ayalon's wife Bilha told Ynet that she had been a member of the Labor Party for years and she believed that Ami could bring about a change.

 

The average voter turnout for the Labor Party over the past few years has been 64.6 percent, and according to estimates, no serious change is expected this year.

 

All five candidates have been preparing for the challenge of bringing registered voters to the ballots.

 

Ayalon and Barak focused on achieving high turnout especially among the Arab sector and kibbutzim. 

 

Barak aims for victory in the first round, while polls predict his defeat against Ayalon in the second round.

 

Attila Somfalvi, Amnon Meranda, Shmulik Hadad and Aviram Zino contributed to this report

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.28.07, 10:32
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