Jerusalem, Israel – Projections by Israel’s three main media stations show acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s centrist Kadima Party winning Israel’s election, but not getting enough parliament seats to govern alone.
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U/D: 15:48
Ehud Olmert’s Kadima Party won the most seats in Israel’s election, but fared worse than polls had suggested.
Kadima won 29-32 seats in the voting for Israel’s 120-seat Knesset, according to exit polls. As a result of the vote, which saw a record-low turnout 63.2 percent, Olmert is likely to continue as prime minister, a job he assumed on an interim basis after Ariel Sharon suffered a debilitating stroke Jan. 4. The Labor Party, led by Amir Peretz, was second, with 19-22 mandates. The biggest loser was Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party, which won no more than 12 seats and could trail Yisrael Beitenu, a hawkish party led by Avigdor Lieberman that won 12-14 seats.
The other big surprise was the six to eight seats won by the Pensioners Party.