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This is an archive article published on November 24, 2005
Israel sets March poll date
Israel8217;s president, Moshe Katsav, on Wednesday set March 28 as the date for early elections after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon quit his ...
Written by Allyn Fisher Ilan
Jerusalem | November 24, 2005 12:00 AM IST
2 min read
2 min read
Israel8217;s president, Moshe Katsav, on Wednesday set March 28 as the date for early elections after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon quit his ruling Likud to campaign as a centrist ready to pursue peace with the Palestinians.
Parties and politicians have been thrown into frantic manoeuvring since Sharon8217;s announcement on Monday.
For procedural reasons, the order will only take effect on December8. Sharon will stay on as prime minister until elections and should have a free hand to change his cabinet before then.
Polls suggest that the biggest gamble of Sharon8217;s political career could come off and that he would be re-elected for a third term as prime minister, with leftist Labour behind him and the remains of the right-wing Likud in third place.
Sharon secured formal recognition of his 8220;National Responsibility8221; party as a parliamentary faction and won his first convert from Labour on Wednesday. Most of the 16 deputies who declared in favour so far are from Likud.
Several candidates are vying for leadership of the Likud. At the forefront is Benjamin Netanyahu, a former premier who resigned as finance minister over the Gaza plan, the first time Israel gave up settlements on land that Palestinians want for a state. Behind Netanyahu are Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom.
Fiery new leader Amir Peretz has given new life to the Labour party, which drove peace negotiations in the 1990s but then drifted to the sidelines after a Palestinian uprising broke out in 2000. 8212;Reuters
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