Meretz Primary Puts Incumbent MKs on Top of Knesset Slate

The Meretz central committee last night elected MKs Ilan Gilon, Issawi Freij, Michal Rosin and Tamar Zandberg to the second through fifth slots on its slate of candidates for the March 17 election.

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Zahava Gal-On, who will be at the top of the Meretz slate, was re-elected party leader two weeks ago.

Former MK Mossi Raz was chosen for the sixth slot followed by Gabi Lasky, Avi Dabush and former MK Avshalom Vilan, as MK Nitzan Horowitz’s decision to leave politics left a space near the top for a new face.

Raz is chairman of the Forum of Peace Organizations while Vilan, who represents the kibbutz sector, is secretary general of the Farmers Association.

The slate was chosen by the party’s 1,000-member central committee in Tel Aviv as 96 percent of committee members turned out to the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds for the vote.

Recent polls give Meretz, which has six Knesset members in the outgoing parliament, five to six lawmakers in the next Knesset but its fortunes have been clouded by Zionist Camp’s popularity.