With less than two weeks to the primary elections of Israel's ruling Kadima party, a new poll put Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni 20 percentage points ahead of Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, local daily Ha'aretz reported Thursday on its website.
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Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (L) speaks with a pupil during a ceremony for the first day of school at an elementary school in Tel Aviv September 1, 2008. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo]
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The poll of Kadima party members, conducted by Ha'aretz and local Channel 10 News on Tuesday, indicated 40 percent support for Livni and 20 percent for Mofaz, which means she could score an outright first-round victory for the Kadima leadership on Sept. 17.
Public Security Minister Avi Dichter and Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, the other two candidates, are lagging far behind, according to the poll.
The poll also found that 28 percent of the voters have not decided yet whom to vote for. However, even if few of them vote for Livni, she will win in the first round since the required percentage to win the vote is 40, said Ha'aretz.
If Livni fails to achieve the required 40 percent and comes into a second round, she is expected to win with 51 percent of the vote, and the difference between them still remains 20 percent, according to the poll.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, also current Kadima chairman, who was embroiled a legal battle over corruption and graft suspicions, has announced that he would not compete in Kadima's primary and would resign as soon as a new party leader is chosen.
