BICOM

Approximately 63,000 registered members of Israel’s Labour Party will be eligible to vote in 450 polling stations around the country today to select the party’s list of Knesset candidates for January’s election.

In total 83 candidates are standing in today’s poll. At the top end of the list, the battle for second spot behind party leader Shelly Yachimovich is expected to be between party whip Isaac Herzog, who is considered a close ally of Yachimovich and Amir Peretz, her biggest rival within the party, whose popularity has increased lately due to the role he played in developing the Iron Dome missile defence system during his time as Defence Minister.

With Labour expected to form the second largest faction in the next Knesset, Yachimovich expressed her concern yesterday that the party might choose a list that is considered too left wing for her liking. Referring to the perceived rightward shift in the Likud Party primaries earlier this week, Yachimovich is widely quoted in the Israeli media as saying yesterday, “It’s absurd, but I face a similar challenge to the one that [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu faced… Presumably, he, too, didn’t want certain people in his party.”

The eight incumbent Labour MKs are expected to comfortably secure electable spots on the party’s list of candidates. However, there are plenty of newcomers also hoping to figure prominently on the slate. Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Openheimer and journalist Merav Michaeli are considered to be affiliated with the party’s left-wing while Yachmovich has publicly supported the candidacy of Stav Shaffir and Itzik Shmuli, two of the most prominent leaders of the summer 2011 social protest movement.

Although the list of candidates is considered light on individuals with serious security credentials, it does include Ofer Bar-Lev, the former commander of the Sayeret Matkal commando unit and Nahum Hofri, a former pilot and Ra’anana mayor. Two current Kadima MKs, Nachman Shai and Nino Abesadze are seeking a return to the Knesset with Labour. The results of the primaries are expected to be announced early tomorrow morning.