Israel's Livni wins party battle to replace Olmert

updated 4:45 a.m. ET Sept. 18, 2008

JERUSALEM - Israel's foreign minister declared victory Thursday in a tight race to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as the head of the governing party, getting a chance to be the country's first female leader in 34 years.

Tzipi Livni, 50, said she would immediately turn to the task of trying to cobble together a new government.

"The national responsibility (bestowed) by the public brings me to approach this job with great awe," Livni said.

Official results showed Livni winning by a 1.1 percentage point margin in the Kadima Party primary elections — a far narrower victory than the double-digit romp polls had predicted.

Livni, a political moderate, barely edged out hawkish rival Shaul Mofaz, a former defense minister, in a contest that could have far-reaching implications for peacemaking with the Palestinians and Syria.

Livni said she would launch coalition talks on Friday, even though President Shimon Peres cannot officially ask her to try to put together a government until Olmert resigns the premiership.

After she is assigned the task, she will have 42 days to form a new ruling coalition.

Corruption allegations
If she succeeds, she will become Israel's first female prime minister since Golda Meir stepped down in 1974. If she fails, the country will hold elections in early 2009, a year and a half ahead of schedule.

Olmert, who is stepping down to battle multiple corruption allegations, will remain as a caretaker leader until parliament approves a new Cabinet.

Olmert spokesman Mark Regev said the prime minister called Livni to congratulate her on her victory and would notify the Cabinet on Sunday that he would resign. "After that, he will resign," Regev said, without specifying when.

Israeli media reported Thursday that Mofaz called Livni to congratulate her, rejecting a legal adviser's proposal to challenge the results.

Three TV exit polls released just before the voting ended Wednesday night had showed a clear victory for Livni over Mofaz, about 47 percent to 37 percent, leading to premature celebrations.

But official results saw that margin shrink dramatically, to 43.1 percent for Livni and 42 percent for Mofaz — a 431-vote edge. This was not the first time exit polls have badly missed their mark here.

Livni needed 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff next week. Two other candidates lagged far behind in the tally.

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