Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, who ran and finished last in the recent Kadima Party primaries, confirms suspicions of dirty dealings in the election.

Dichter met with a group of party activists in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, and commented, "We have to ask pointed questions about the way the election was held in several of the polling stations... In not a few of them, people holding official positions in Kadima were walking around - not in order to help the voting, but in order to determine its results."

"How shocking it was to see this beautiful democratic process of primaries turn into something very different," Dichter said.  He said there were "too many polling stations in which the voting conditions were scandalous."

In the primaries, which were held ten days ago, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni defeated Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz by only 431 votes, a 1.1% margin.

Sheetrit and Elkin, Too

Dichter is not the only Kadima member with criticism of Kadima corruption. Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, who also ran in the primaries, declared several weeks ago that the recruitment of members to Kadima is even more corrupt than "in the blackest days of the Likud."

In addition, MK Ze'ev Elkin has promoted an investigation into the apparent corruption, "even if Mofaz [whose defeat may have been caused by the suspected corruption - ed.] does not."

Dichter, who joined Kadima within two weeks of the party's founding in late 2005, said, "It wasn't for this type of politics that we started Kadima.  Political cleverness - fine, I have no problem with that.  Political alliances - fine. I can even tolerate political tricks. But political corruption - under no circumstances. We must uproot from the source political delinquency, and fight corruption and the corrupt with all our strength."

A former General Security Service chief, this is Dichter's first term in the Knesset - which he is serving concurrently with the position of Minister of Public Security.

Olmert Against Dichter

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, at today's Cabinet meeting, told Dichter that his remarks were "chutzpah," were harmful to the other candidates, and should not have been made while Kadima was in the midst of coalition negotiations.  Other Kadima ministers agreed.

Comptroller Investigating

State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss is looking into complaints of “irregularities” in no fewer than 71 out of 115 polling stations, and is considering launching an official probe.  Among the issues being investigated are the purposeful burning of the 430 votes in the Bedouin town of Rahat - one fewer than the margin of victory - as well as the abrupt decision to leave the polls open for an extra half-hour, apparently to the benefit of Livni.