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Last update - 23:44 18/09/2008
Victorious Livni: I will approach this job with 'great reverence'
By Haaretz Staff and News Agencies

The new chairman of Kadima, Tzipi Livni, gave her long-awaited victory speech early Thursday morning following a dramatic night which saw her projected lead shrink to a mere percentage point in her primary face-off with Shaul Mofaz.

"All the people who came to vote today expressed what they wish to happen in this country," Livni told reporters. "The national responsibility [bestowed] by the public brings me to approach this job with great reverence."

In reference to her primary opponents - Ministers Avi Dichter, Shaul Mofaz, and Meir Sheetrit - the foreign minister said "they were rivals of the moment, but together we have one mission. Together we will create government stability."
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"The responsibility is not solely mine, but also on members of Kadima," Livni, who spoke with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert earlier Wednesday evening, said. The new Kadima chairman said she intended to "meet with the members of the Knesset factions in order to form a coalition."

Livni thanked the voters, adding: "I am going forward with your strength that will be with me from here on out."

Despite the landslide victory attributed to Livni in the exit polls by Israel's three major TV stations, Livni beat Mofaz in Wednesday's Kadima primary by a margin of 431 votes, a difference of 1.1 percent. Livni garnered 43.1 percent to Mofaz's 42 percent. Voter turnout in the primary stood at 55 percent.

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, and 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.

Mofaz telephoned Livni on Thursday morning, congratulating her on her primary victory, Israel Radio reported.

An attorney for Mofaz is recommending that the candidate appeal the results of Wednesday's party primary, arguing that voting irregularities primarily in the Arab sector could very well make up the difference separating Mofaz and Livni.

The lawyer, Yehuda Weinstein, acknowledged Livni edged out Mofaz by 431 votes, yet he pointed out that the voting station in the Negev town of Rahat offered a pool of 430 votes. "It is impossible to attain power in Israel by a margin of one vote," Weinstein said.

The Rahat votes were nullified after one of the town's residents caused a commotion at the voting station, flinging envelopes in every direction while people were placing slips into the ballot boxes. Because of the tightness of the race, the Mofaz camp is likely to request that the Rahat votes be counted.

"Everyone is armed with complaints in such a tight race, and every complaint will be addressed," said Dan Arbel, the chairman of the election committee. "There are accusations of wrongdoing in the Ashkelon voting station, in Beit Jean, and we will investigate these claims. To this point, we have not found a reason to disqualify any voting station except for Rahat." Arbel noted that all of the results were reported to the elections committee.

Arbel rejected Mofaz's claim that the television exit polls which were released before the final votes were tallied influenced the voters. The party extended the voting an extra 30 minutes past the original 10:00 P.M. closing time. "The alternative would be that [people] would not be able to vote," Arbel said.

Citing evidence it says is proof of illegal activity, the Mofaz campaign is considering a request to disqualify certain voting stations in Arab towns. Earlier, the Mofaz campaign said it would urge a partial vote recount, citing election fraud which is allegedly backed by evidence. Once the final tally results showed a near photo finish, campaign officials huddled with lawyers at Mofaz headquarters for emergency consultations.

"The results are amazingly close to each other," Mofaz associates said.

Mofaz aides also claim that the television exit polls that declared a double-digit victory for Livni some 15 minutes before the polls' closing had a bearing on voters as well as potential voters, thus tilting the final results in Livni's favor.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday evening phoned Livni and congratulated her on her victory in the party primary after TV exit polls indicated she had won by a landslide.

Olmert wished Livni good luck and told her she would receive his full cooperation in passing on the role of leadership in the event she is capable of establishing a coalition. The two planned to meet later this week.

Having secured more than 40 percent of the vote, Livni will replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as Kadima chairman, negating the need for a second round of voting.

Livni's main rival for the leadership of the ruling party, Shaul Mofaz, the hardline transportation minister and former army chief, was predicted to have won 37 percent of the vote.

The exit polls awarded the two other candidates, Meir Sheetrit and Avi Dichter, 7 percent each.

MK Ronit Tirosh, who has announced her support for Mofaz, asked the chairman of Kadima's election panel, former judge Dan Arbel, to refrain from pronouncing Livni as victor before the indications of fraud have been disproved.

Arbel told Israel Radio that "when the race is so tight, each side has all sorts of claims. We will look into them closely, but so far we haven't found any of them to be based in truth."

Livni will replace Olmert, who is stepping down in light of multiple corruption allegations.

Late Wednesday she thanked her supporters in a phone call to her headquarters.

"You fought like lions...you did an amazing thing, and I just want to do all the things you fought for," she said. "I know you did it as friends, but like me you did it because you want this to be a better place."

The biggest issue at stake was the future of Israel's peace talks with the Palestinians, with Livni seen as far more amenable to a final deal than Mofaz. Livni, 50, is currently Israel's lead negotiator in those talks.

Mofaz was seen as having a better chance at cobbling together a ruling coalition if he had won Wednesday's primary. But pre-vote polls showed Livni to be a far stronger candidate in a general election against Israel's other political star, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the rightist Likud Party.

Kadima extended the voting hours by 30 minutes Wednesday night, apparently to give voters returning from work more time to cast their ballots at crowded polling stations. Analysts predicted a high turnout would favor Livni, who has a wide advantage in opinion polls but who is seen not to have rallied party activists as efficiently as Mofaz.

The fact that only 74,000 party members, in a country of 7 million people, were eligible to vote added to the uncertainty of the outcome. Israeli media reported that an hour before the new closing time of 10:30 P.M. some 45 percent of the eligible Kadima voters had cast their ballots. However, voting often picks up in the evening after working hours in Israeli elections.

Hamas: Both Livni and Mofaz deny Palestinians' rights
Meanwhile on Thursday, Ismail Haniya, the de-facto prime minister of Hamas in Gaza, expressed indifference at the predicted election victory for Tzipi Livni as the new leader of Israel's ruling party, saying both she and her rivals deny "legitimate Palestinian rights."

"All Israeli leaders unite in their hostile positions against our people and in denying their rights, notably Jerusalem and the refugees," Haniya told reporters in Gaza.

"Regardless of who will win in Israel, we won't change our position," he said, adding "the Zionist dream to establish the great Israel has been defeated by the Islamic project, which gained in strength dramatically in the region."


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      1.   The (last) Israeli hope is FEMALE...... 22:45  |  Swiss (Dino) 17/09/08
      2.   Go Livni And Obama!!! 22:54  |  Yosemite 17/09/08
      3.   is Livni the agent who lured Vanunu to Rome by sleeping with him? 22:55  |  JACKAL 17/09/08
      4.   Mofaz: Born in Iran, wants to drop nuclear bomb on Iran 22:56  |  JACKAL 17/09/08
      5.   Long live Tsipi 23:02  |  Nick Potzayid 17/09/08
      6.   people always get the leaders they deserve 23:03  |  old saying 17/09/08
      7.   What`s next ? 23:08  |  Baz Mann 17/09/08
      8.   CONCGRATULATIONS TZIPI NOW GET IT RIGHT 23:12  |  Dave 17/09/08
      9.   good to see Tzipi win 23:15  |  Akiva P 17/09/08
      10.   Tzipi Livni 23:19  |  jipe 17/09/08
      11.   Livni prevails!!! Delighted... proud... 23:22  |  Esther 17/09/08
      12.   Re Baz #7..."...is she just power hungry ...?" 23:29  |  Esther 17/09/08
      13.   Congratulations Tzipi Livni. 23:30  |  Maureen Ann 17/09/08
      14.   Same stuff different skirt! 23:31  |  Arie 17/09/08
      15.   Livni Better Learn From Others Mistakes 23:32  |  Baruch Gold 17/09/08
      16.   THE candidate qurei and abbas prayed for! 23:35  |  Arie 17/09/08
      17.   Makes no difference who wins. So long as Kadima is in power... 23:35  |  bat yam 17/09/08
      18.   Hurray for Livni, go girl ! 23:36  |  Benjamina 17/09/08
      19.   Well done Tzipi! 23:38  |  J 17/09/08
      20.   Very scary!! 23:40  |  Nemesis 17/09/08
      21.   Islamist-Jihadist votes 23:44  |  Brod 17/09/08
      22.   Channel 10 reported about a Arab who said that 23:49  |  Joseph.E 17/09/08
      23.   Reply to Baruch (#15) 00:18  |  Tod Zuckerman 18/09/08
      24.   Reply to Arie (14) - I Wish You Were Correct 00:24  |  Tod Zuckerman 18/09/08
      25.   Is Israel doomed? 00:46  |  JG 18/09/08
      26.   Prime Minister Livni. At last. 01:06  |  Stephen. 18/09/08
      27.   HOT CODES DISCOVERY - LIVNI/NETANYAHU 01:33  |  Barry S. Roffman 18/09/08
      28.   idiots leading idiots 01:46  |  glad i am not you 18/09/08
      29.   Congratulations Tzipi Livni. 01:52  |  Joergen Lund 18/09/08
      30.   We have already seen her at work... 02:09  |  Avi 18/09/08
      31.   Livni remained in Kadima. She is equally corrupt. 02:25  |  NOT FOOLED! 18/09/08
      32.   Tishar Kochechaych Tzipi 02:25  |  Afikoman 18/09/08
      33.   Livni`s only credential is that she doesn`t have a police record! 02:30  |  Netanyahu has my vot 18/09/08
      34.   #2 Yosemite, thx for the laugh 02:37  |  Mark B. 18/09/08
      35.   COUNTRY FIRST! Vote NETANYAHU! 02:44  |  Only Likud 18/09/08
      36.   LIVNI 03:00  |  Wilfredo Ladanga Jr 18/09/08
      37.   Todd-MOST Israelis don`t like her or kadima 03:03  |  Arie 18/09/08
      38.   Livni Wins 03:18  |  Jill Oserowsky 18/09/08
      39.   what a loser id livni 04:12  |  get real 18/09/08
      40.   The Good Mother Shepherd 04:32  |  Shimon Cleopas 18/09/08
      41.   The Dhimmis Israeli Politicians Said Pay No Attention to Polls 04:35  |  Joseph.E 18/09/08
      42.   Obama/Livni 2008 for PEACE 05:05  |  Abm Habibullah 18/09/08
      43.   A dash of cold water 05:10  |  x-ray 18/09/08
      44.   Mazel Tov to Tzipi Livni ....another historical moment 05:11  |  Smadar 18/09/08
      45.   Yay! Tzipi! ..... Don`t forget to pull up your Tzip! 05:25  |  The Archives 18/09/08
      46.   Is 10% a small margin? 05:32  |  Harry 18/09/08
      47.   voting 05:47  |  colin 18/09/08
      48.   For Maureen Ann on 1938 vs 2008 05:51  |  Fortuna Benmayor 18/09/08
      49.   Rak Halikuk Yakhol 05:57  |  KMS 18/09/08
      50.   Hi Stephen #26 Lets hope Livni can form coalition within 42 days 06:19  |  Sarah 18/09/08
      51.   web site 06:42  |  Neil Rest 18/09/08
      52.   HOPE YOU HAVE MORE BALLS THAN OLMERDE 07:01  |  BOB KING 18/09/08
      53.   old testament 07:13  |  Daniel L 18/09/08
      54.   Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Netanyahu 07:18  |  Daniel L 18/09/08
      55.   Congratulations Maureen Ann 07:50  |  Ruth 18/09/08
      56.   Only likud 08:15  |  Miche Norman 18/09/08
      57.   Getting what we deserve 08:18  |  Miche Norman 18/09/08
      58.   Mabrook and Hope 08:19  |  Labib Madanat 18/09/08
      59.   WATCH YOUR BACK LIVNI 08:26  |  indrajaya 18/09/08
      60.   LIVNI WILL END UP LIKE OLMERT 08:27  |  indrajaya 18/09/08
      61.   For the outsiders who see her as a leftist candidate 08:47  |  x-ray 18/09/08
      62.   Congrats to Israel for new PM 08:47  |  Samuel Prime 18/09/08
      63.   Another Civillian at the helms 08:49  |  Nahum W 18/09/08
      64.   Mother Livni, behold your son 08:59  |  Shimon Cleopas 18/09/08
      65.   send for amagician !! now you see it, now you dont 09:05  |  v.hardman 18/09/08
      66.   Livni as Prime Minister 09:53  |  Ahmed M Ibrahim 18/09/08
      67.   JACKAL Mofaz wants to drop a nuclear bomb on Iran.Really? 09:58  |  PETER SM 18/09/08
      68.   Once again the dog-eared pack of cards is shuffled 10:00  |  Clickfool 18/09/08
      69.   Mazeltov Lovely Tsippi - don`t let us down! 10:04  |  Chanalau, Tova 18/09/08
      70.   Mofaz would make a great PM 10:24  |  leven5 18/09/08
      71.   There are only 2 THINGS the world can expect from Tzipi Livni 10:29  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/09/08
      72.   For Swiss (Dino), on the long line of Israeli duds # 45 10:44  |  Clickfool 18/09/08
      73.   hey dino :ask the arabs the same! 10:51  |  ser 18/09/08
      74.   WOMEN & POWER 10:53  |  ser 18/09/08
      75.   #33 Ruth. What could I say? 10:58  |  Maureen Ann 18/09/08
      76.   # 55 Clickfool 11:09  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/09/08
      77.   Kadima 11:25  |  Steve A 18/09/08
      78.   Reverence instead of arrogance 11:28  |  Tzfonit 18/09/08
      79.   # 59 ser 11:35  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/09/08
      80.   I totally forgot to mention: Israel has now the PRETTIEST PM..... 11:48  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/09/08
      81.   A Lemon #56 12:09  |  Sheikh Rattle & Roll 18/09/08
      82.   # 60 Clickfool (2nd try) 12:14  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/09/08
      83.   Livni a media fraud 12:17  |  Jonathan S 18/09/08
      84.   A RIPPOF, A ST:EN VICTORY 12:27  |  Azulay 18/09/08
      85.   SWISS.Attention world,Swiss is speaking for you. 12:29  |  PETER SM 18/09/08
      86.   Click fool is one to talk 12:32  |  Miche Norman 18/09/08
      87.   And the winner is Netanyahu Tzipi paving the way for him 12:55  |  Jew- and Bookburner 18/09/08
      88.   #.66 Dino . Gotcha, 13:09  |  Stephen. 18/09/08
      89.   # 71 PETER SM 13:20  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/09/08
      90.   tova the bad and the kiss of death for tzipora 13:29  |  v.hardman 18/09/08
      91.   livni victory!!!! 14:04  |  igal azuelos 18/09/08
      92.   MABROUK 14:39  |  ARABI 18/09/08
      93.   # 74 Stephen 14:49  |  Swiss (Dino) 18/09/08
      94.   #13 Maureen 14:59  |  Rab Burns 18/09/08
      95.   CHANALAU"Get rid of the settlements - bring us peace!" & Hamas ? 15:23  |  PETER SM 18/09/08
      96.   Miche Norman unfair 15:51  |  Iz Ray Leigh 18/09/08
      97.   Congratulations, Tzipi Livni 16:16  |  Jeff Northridge 18/09/08
      98.   "searing defeat on the pali mind"... with "great reverence"? 16:27  |  ravi 18/09/08
      99.   Voters don`t appreciate their priviledge 16:32  |  Carol Rea 18/09/08
      100.   MAUREEN For some nothing has changed since 1938 16:41  |  PETER SM 18/09/08
      101.   Tweedle Dee or ...; Just more of the same.... 17:17  |  Gray 18/09/08
      102.   Tzfonit 17:44  |  Mistress Lynn ;) 18/09/08
      103.   Happy Moment 18:22  |  Dr. Makni 18/09/08
      104.   UNDERSTANDING CLOSE ELECTIONS!!! 20:42  |  Dr. Phil Goldberg 18/09/08
      105.   Foreign Medias Describe Lvni as The Israel` Golda Meir 21:41  |  Joseph.E 18/09/08
      106.   Israel parliament , High Court , Religious Authority 21:43  |  Joseph.E 18/09/08
      107.   Harry #46:10% is insignificant when you look at reality 23:08  |  Arie 18/09/08
      108.   Isn`t she proud that she`s the one to give it all away for free 00:54  |  isn`treal 19/09/08
      109.   the only thing she has reverence for:PIECE;the PIECE that is and 02:59  |  glenna 19/09/08
      110.   # PeterSM Non laughable facts for you! 03:37  |  Maureen Ann 19/09/08
      111.   Deeply divided Kadima,not a good sign. 04:14  |  Sarah 19/09/08
      112.   # Rab Burns. You missed the headlines. 07:37  |  Maureen Ann 19/09/08
      113.   moaning ann and selective facts go together 08:41  |  v.hardman 19/09/08
      114.   Last hope? 19:30  |  Paul 19/09/08
      115.   From experience! 06:43  |  Paul 21/09/08
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