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Social justice campaigners win top slots on Labour list
The results of the Labour Party primary for Knesset candidates was announced this morning with a strong showing for young and female candidates behind party leader Isaac Herzog and Hatnuah head Tzipi Livni, with the two parties running a joint ticket.
A turnout of 58.9 per cent of the 48,904 registered voters was recorded, higher than the 57.7 per cent who voted in the Labour primaries two years ago. Herzog called yesterday’s vote “a celebration of democracy” and claimed that, “There are no parties with such a positive atmosphere … Our members realise that for the first time in years, we are presenting a serious alternative to [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu.” Current polling indicates that the Labour-Hatnuah list could win between 20-25 Knesset seats.
36 candidates stood in yesterday’s election and former-party leader Shelly Yachimovich won the race for third place on the party’s electoral list. The fourth and fifth slots were secured respectively by current MKs Stav Shaffir and Itzik Shmuely. Both were prominent young leaders of the 2011 social protest movement and are considered to have a strong socio-economic agenda. MK Merav Michaeli finished in ninth position, the fourth woman within the top ten candidates. MK Eitan Cabel is in the tenth slot, representing a disappointing result as he had been widely tipped to finish third.
The new faces in realistically electable slots on the Labour list include Arab broadcaster Zoheir Bahalul, economic professor Yossi Yonah, Ma’ale Gilboa Regional Council head Danny Atar and Ayelet Nechmias-Varbin, who served as an advisor to former-Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. Current MK Moshe Mizrahi missed out on a slot which is likely to see him re-elected.
The Labour Party will formally present its Knesset slate at a gala event this evening, signalling the official launch of its election campaign. Haaretz suggests that Labour will focus on attracting voters from the centre-right, including those who are disaffected by Likud but may consider voting for a Labour ticket which includes Hatnuah with Tzipi Livni at its head.