Meretz goes to polls to choose chair to save party

After wrapping up a sleepy election campaign, 15,000 registered Meretz party members are set to vote today for a new party leader to replace Yossi Beilin. The three contenders in the primary are Knesset members Haim Oron, Zahava Gal-On and Ran Cohen.

The winner will be tasked with pulling the leftist party out of its lengthy rut, and preparing it for the next elections.

Under Meretz bylaws, the winner must get at least 50 percent of the vote. Should no candidate meet this criteria, a second round will take place in two weeks, on April 1.

Oron, the presumptive front-runner, is working for a clear victory today, while his rivals are both striving for a result that will take them into the second round.

All three candidates will focus today on raising voter turnout. Oron has the backing of the kibbutz sector, which represents about a third of party members.

Gal-On and Cohen will vie mostly for the heterogenous urban sector, totaling some 6,000 voters.

Polling stations across the country will be open from 4:30 P.M. to 9 P.M., and results are expected to be in at 11 P.M.

Oron, who was reluctant to enter the fray until recently, won Beilin's endorsement to replace him, as well as the support of MK Avshalom Vilan, former Meretz leader Shulamit Aloni and the writer Amos Oz.

Cohen lost to Beilin in the 2004 primary, but is convinced he can prevent an Oron sweepstake. Cohen is running on a social-issues agenda, and campaigned on a promise to open up the party to broader constituencies.

Gal-On set her sights on young voters of the sort who have abandoned Meretz in recent years, and those who did not know Meretz in its heyday as a vibrant young party that took a combative lead on political and civil issues. She has focused on civil rights, on the assumption that Meretz's political claims to the leftist mantle have been adopted by other parties to some degree.

Meretz's base has aged in recent years, as visibly attested by the crowd at party conventions. It also lost several thousand of its registered voters, compared to the 2004 primary. In the last general election Meretz won only five seats, its worst showing ever.

From the opposition, Meretz has backed certain political moves in recent years, including Ariel Sharon's disengagement from Gaza. After the 2006 elections, Meretz held brief coalition talks that went nowhere.

In recent months, the possibility has been raised of Meretz joining Ehud Olmert's coalition if peace talks with the Palestinians take a practical turn. At times of coalition crises, there have been hints from Olmert associates that Meretz is a potential partner. Word has it that a victory by Oron, who is considered close to the prime minister, would pave the way for the party to enter the government. However, Oron has made it clear that Meretz can go on supporting diplomacy efforts from outside.

Meretz sources said that Oron, if elected, is highly unlikely to lead the party to join the coalition, due to opposition within the party to such a move.