ISRAEL:EXIT POLLS released last night by the three main Israeli TV stations crowned foreign minister Tzipi Livni as the new leader of the ruling Kadima party.
The polls gave her a significant 10- to 12-point lead over her nearest rival, transport minister Shaul Mofaz, in the race to replace prime minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the centrist ruling party and possibly as prime minister.
The exit polls bore out opinion surveys which had given Ms Livni a double-digit lead throughout most of the six-week campaign. She needed more than 40 per cent to win outright in the first round.
Just over half of the 74,000 Kadima voters turned up at the polls yesterday to choose a new leader.
The leadership race was precipitated by Mr Olmert's decision in late July to resign, in the face of mounting corruption allegations, once his party had chosen a new leader.
Two other candidates, interior minister Meir Sheetrit and internal security minister Avi Dichter, failed to get into double digits, according to the exit polls.
Ms Livni, who as foreign minister has been responsible for negotiations with the Palestinians, is considered less hawkish than Mr Mofaz, a former chief-of-staff and defence minister who is sceptical about reaching a comprehensive peace agreement with the Palestinians or the Syrians in the foreseeable future.
Ms Livni has also crafted an image as a strong opponent of sleaze, having called on Mr Olmert to resign on more than one occasion. This Mrs Clean image has made her popular among Israelis and opinion polls show her running neck-and-neck with Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu in a general election.
If the exit polls are borne out, Ms Livni's first challenge as leader of Kadima, will be to form a new governing coalition. She will have up to six weeks to do so.
If she fails, Israelis will face a general election some time early next year.