Polling stations will be open till this evening. The fight for the top job in the centrist party is largely limited to two candidates, Tzipi Livni and Shaul Mofaz. The former however is ahead in the polls but will need at least 40 per cent to avoid a runoff.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) – Some 74,000 Kadima members are eligible to vote in the party’s primaries to pick a successor to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who announced his intention to quit on 30 July after he came under investigation for corruption.

Starting at 10 am party members can vote in 114 polling stations in 93 localities, choosing from a list of four candidates: Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, and Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit. The winner must get at least 40 per cent of vote; otherwise a runoff will be needed next week.

Despite confident statements about victory from both Livni and Mofaz, polls indicate that the foreign minister has pulled ahead.

A poll conducted Monday by Haaretz-Dialog and Channel 10 had Livni taking 47 per cent of the vote and Mofaz 28 per cent, whilst Sheetrit and Dichter each received 6 percent.

The turnout however is expected to be around 50 per cent, which makes survey results less reliable.

If the primaries do crown a winner, Olmert’s resignation should come next week; if not, it will have to wait another week after a second round of voting.

The current prime minister will remain in office until his successor has named the new cabinet. Or else Israel’s parliament will be dissolved and elections called with the most likely date being March 2009.

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