The vote for leadership of the Labor Party is taking place Tuesday with polling stations around the country opening at 8:30 a.m. The balloting is the second round in the party's primaries, and it will end the contest between freshman Knesset Member Ami Ayalon and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
In the first round of voting, Barak won the largest number of votes (35.6%); however, much of the support and campaign infrastructure of defeated incumbent and Defense Minister Amir Peretz has been formally thrown behind Ayalon, which may well shift the second round outcome in Ayalon's favor. The voters who supported another defeated primaries candidate, MK Ophir Paz-Pines, are likely to be split evenly between the Barak and Ayalon camps, although Paz-Pines formally gave his endorsement to Ehud Barak. Paz-Pines won only 8% of the vote in the first round, while Peretz and Ayalon won 22.4% and 30.6%, respectively.
On the other hand, there has been criticism in the kibbutz movement, a traditional core base of Labor voters, of the Ayalon-Peretz collaboration. Many kibbutz voters cast their ballots in the last national elections for the Kadima party out of a rejection of outgoing party chairman Peretz. It has also often been the case that kibbutz voters support the candidate who was himself a former member of a kibbutz - in this case, Ehud Barak.
Most polls have indicated that former Prime Minister Barak will pull slightly ahead of MK Ayalon.
Former Prime Minister Barak has also received the endorsement of influential MK and former radio talk show personality Shelly Yechimovitch. The impact of MK Yechimovitch's support for Barak is amplified by the fact that she was among the chief supporters of Peretz in the previous round of voting. She explained her support for what has developed into the rival camp by saying that her concern in the first round was to support Peretz's socio-economic positions; however, the economic policies advocated by Barak and Ayalon are nearly identical, Yechimovitch claims, and therefore she prefers Barak's leadership experience.
Most polls have indicated that former Prime Minister Barak will pull slightly ahead of MK Ayalon, who has emphasized the need for social welfare programs. Barak ran a "race of silence," leaning on his previous experience and declining to make major policy statements, except to say that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert must be replaced. A poll carried out for television's Channel 10 and released Monday night gave Barak 46% of the vote and Ayalon, 39%. Undecideds were listed at 7%.
Tuesday's contest is the seventh time in seven years that Labor voters have had to elect a party leader.
In the first round of voting, Barak won the largest number of votes (35.6%); however, much of the support and campaign infrastructure of defeated incumbent and Defense Minister Amir Peretz has been formally thrown behind Ayalon, which may well shift the second round outcome in Ayalon's favor. The voters who supported another defeated primaries candidate, MK Ophir Paz-Pines, are likely to be split evenly between the Barak and Ayalon camps, although Paz-Pines formally gave his endorsement to Ehud Barak. Paz-Pines won only 8% of the vote in the first round, while Peretz and Ayalon won 22.4% and 30.6%, respectively.
On the other hand, there has been criticism in the kibbutz movement, a traditional core base of Labor voters, of the Ayalon-Peretz collaboration. Many kibbutz voters cast their ballots in the last national elections for the Kadima party out of a rejection of outgoing party chairman Peretz. It has also often been the case that kibbutz voters support the candidate who was himself a former member of a kibbutz - in this case, Ehud Barak.
Most polls have indicated that former Prime Minister Barak will pull slightly ahead of MK Ayalon.
Former Prime Minister Barak has also received the endorsement of influential MK and former radio talk show personality Shelly Yechimovitch. The impact of MK Yechimovitch's support for Barak is amplified by the fact that she was among the chief supporters of Peretz in the previous round of voting. She explained her support for what has developed into the rival camp by saying that her concern in the first round was to support Peretz's socio-economic positions; however, the economic policies advocated by Barak and Ayalon are nearly identical, Yechimovitch claims, and therefore she prefers Barak's leadership experience.
Most polls have indicated that former Prime Minister Barak will pull slightly ahead of MK Ayalon, who has emphasized the need for social welfare programs. Barak ran a "race of silence," leaning on his previous experience and declining to make major policy statements, except to say that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert must be replaced. A poll carried out for television's Channel 10 and released Monday night gave Barak 46% of the vote and Ayalon, 39%. Undecideds were listed at 7%.
Tuesday's contest is the seventh time in seven years that Labor voters have had to elect a party leader.