Sources close to Ehud Barak have said that he will announce within two weeks whether he will challenge Amir Peretz for the leadership of the Labor Party, and there is growing belief within the party that the former prime minister will enter the race.

Labor primary elections are slated to be held on May 28, 2007.

The voter rolls, composed of current dues-paying members of the party, are to close on January 30.

	Advertisement

The party central committee last week set the date for the primaries, despite an effort by Peretz to postpone a decision on the matter. Barak loyalists have pressed for closing voter membership drives and holding primaries as soon as possible, fearing that delays would give Peretz time to use his former contacts in the Histadrut to add large numbers of supporters to the voter rolls.

During the central committee meeting on Thursday, Peretz had intended to introduce a resolution to put off by three weeks a decision on the date of the primaries. But he decided against making the move for fear of incurring a defeat.

The decision on voter rolls and the primary date was seen within the party as a major blow to Peretz, and perhaps the beginning of the end for him as Labor chairman.

However, Peretz supporters said that the decision, a compromise measure, was a good one for the party leader, allowing him enough time to prepare for a primary campaign.

Labor MKs Ami Ayalon and Ophir Pines-Paz, who had pressed for an speedy primary process, welcomed the decision, saying that the party had approved the primary date they had originally proposed.