Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livn (C) poses for photos with her supporters before casting her vote in the Kadima primary election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sept. 17, 2008. [Photo: Xinhua]
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Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's campaign on early Thursday claimed that she has won the ruling Kadima party's primary, local news service Ynet reported.
With the official results of the Wednesday elections yet to be released, her associates said that after all votes were tallied, Livni won out with 16,794 of the 38,961 votes, said the report.
The camp claimed that Livni's main rival, Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz trailed with a margin of 479 votes, according to the report.
Yet Mofaz's campaign initially alleged that after 30,500 votes were counted, the military veteran was leading Livni by 800 votes, said the report, adding that shortly later, the camp was planning to demand a recount.
Earlier Thursday, figures released by the party's central elections committee showed that with 25 percent of the votes counted, Livni led in the race with 49.1 percent, as compared to 40. 8 precent that favores Mofaz.
Three exit polls, released shortly after the primary closed late Wednesday night, showed that Livni would win out with at least 47 percent of the votes, enought to avert a second round.
Should the final results confirm Livni's victory, she would succeed Ehud Olmert to become the third and first woman leader of the three-year-old centrist party. Then she would be assigned to form a new government. Should the efforts succeed, she would become the second woman premier after Golda Meir in Israel's history.
Following the publication of the exit polls, Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, the other two candidates trailing Livni and Mofaz, as well as Olmert, called Livni to convey their congratulations.