Deadline approaches for candidates in Israeli election

Peres candidacy awaits Meretz Party's upcoming decision whether to back him

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel's left-wing Meretz Party was meeting in Jerusalem on Thursday to decide if their 10 members in parliament will support the candidacy of former Prime Minister Shimon Peres in a run for the Jewish state's top post.

However, a compromise proposal was said to be in the works: under the plan, current Prime Minister Ehud Barak would give Peres a key role in Israel's efforts to reach a peace settlement, and in return, Peres would not run.

Barak forced a special election when he resigned on December 10 amid increasing criticism over his handling of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and ability to control the ongoing violence in the region. Barak said he would stand for re-election in what he hopes will be a referendum for his strategy.

But Barak trails right-wing Likud party chairman Ariel Sharon in polls ahead of the February 6 vote, and many Barak supporters fear a Peres candidacy would assure Sharon of the win.

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Peres aides have said that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate believes he can defeat Barak in the first round of elections and go on to defeat Sharon in a runoff. Opinion polls are showing Peres would have a good chance of victory in a head-to-head race with Sharon.

But the deadline for candidates to enter the race is at midnight on Thursday (2200 GMT) -- and a candidate must have the backing of at least 10 Knesset members to run, meaning that Peres' chances of joining the race depend on the Meretz Party's decision.

Peres, 77, shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat . He was narrowly defeated for prime minister in 1996 by Benjamin Netanyahu, who in turn lost to Barak in 1999.

Netanyahu had been considered the front-runner for the February election, but he refused earlier this week to participate unless the Knesset dissolved itself and called a general election.

CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Mike Hanna contributed to this report.

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The Nobel Peace Prize 1994
Meretz Party (In Hebrew)
Knesset, The Israeli Parliament
Likud
United Nations
  • Question of Palestine
U.S. State Department
  • Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs
  • Middle East Peace Process
The EU and the Middle East Peace Process
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Palestinian National Authority
Israel Defense Forces
Palestine Red Crescent Society

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