Israelis voting in prime ministerial election

CHAT TRANSCRIPT Israeli Ambassador Alon Pinkas on Israel's election for prime minister

In this story: Election issues include peace, security Polls put Sharon out front Images of Sharon dominate final ads RELATED STORIES, SITES

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israelis were heading to the polls Tuesday to select a prime minister, facing a choice between "two candidates they really don't like," according to CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider.

The country's first election solely for the post of prime minister pits incumbent Ehud Barak of the Labor Party against Likud's Ariel Sharon.

The elections were called after Barak resigned as prime minister after losing his coalition government's majority in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.

Under the rules of the prime ministerial election, only members of the Knesset can stand for prime minister, a rule that excluded former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from running as the Likud candidate. Netanyahu had refused to run when supporters attempted to change the law, saying that without a new Knesset there was no way to form an effective government.

VIDEO CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney has more on the Israeli elections (February 5) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    AUDIO Benny Elon, Knesset member, explains what the election means for Jewish settlers 286K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Jerrold Kessel reports on how Palestinians view the election 905K/84 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Zalman Shovel, Likud Party official, analyses future Israel U.S. relationship 907K/84 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Barak tells CNN's Christiane Amanpour "now is a crucial stage of the peace process" 277K/25 sec. AIFF or WAV sound    IN DEPTH In-Depth: Israel Election 2001 Election Factbox Timeline gallery: Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon Key issues: U.S., Israeli and Palestinian views Recent acts of violence in the Middle East:  •  Bombings  •  Activist deaths   ALSO Hamas favors Sharon victory in Israeli election Peres: Labor Party should consider joining Sharon if he wins Israeli satire sites revel in low-key campaign Validity of exit polls under scrutiny     MESSAGE BOARD Mideast peace

The election is being widely interpreted as a referendum on the performance of Barak, who has pursued a permanent peace settlement with the Palestinians and offered greater concessions to the Palestinians than his predecessors.

Sharon has been sharply critical of the concessions and had blamed Barak for the upsurge in Israeli-Palestinian violence since September 28, 2000. The Likud candidate has campaigned under the slogan " Only Sharon can bring peace."

Palestinians blame Sharon's visit to Jerusalem's holiest sites for the upsurge in violence, a charge Sharon repudiates.

Election issues include peace, security

Supporters of the two candidates described their candidate as best suited to maintain Israel's security and reach a peace deal with Palestinians.

Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, a close ally of Barak, told CNN that "these elections are crucial because of the choice not between the two candidates, Likud and Labor, (but) between two totally contradictory approaches to a vision of Israeli-Palestinian relationship.

"We hope Israeli voters would think with their good judgment, with their brain, that if we want to put an end to bloodshed, to this violence and hostilities, we have to find solutions based on compromise," Sneh added. Such a compromise, he said, includes a partition of territory between Israel and the Palestinians that will lead to a two-state solution.

Uzi Landau, an adviser to Sharon -- who has taken a hard-line approach to dealing with Palestinians throughout his career -- said, "If the Palestinians want to continue to negotiate with us, they have to stop terrorism."

Polls put Sharon out front

Sharon, 72, heads into the election riding a double-digit lead in the polls, but wrestling with the prospect of how to put together a government that will allow him to run Israel the way he wants to in spite of a fractious parliament that undercut Barak at virtually every turn.

Sharon said again Monday his goal is to immediately form a unity government that would include Barak's Labor Party. But Barak, 58, has said he would not be part of what he called an "extremist government."

Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, a Sharon supporter, rejected the charge that Sharon is an extremist.

"Sharon today is not the Sharon of 30 years ago. Everyone agrees things have changed and there's a need for a political process, but a process different from Barak's process and Sharon is ready for that," he said.

If Sharon cannot form a unity government, his option would be to form a coalition government made up of right wing and ultra-religious parties. That coalition would have only a narrow majority, limiting his ability to govern and negotiate with the Palestinians.

Images of Sharon dominate final ads

The final political ads run on Israeli television Sunday night featured sharply contrasting views of Sharon.

Barak's ad showed old black-and-white footage of Sharon the general. Israelis could be seen in the pictures wearing gas masks. The message from Barak: Sharon is the general who brought war, not security.

Sharon's final ad, in contrast, showed him walking in a field, wondering about his newest grandchildren, twins born just days ago. "What kind of life will they have?" Sharon wonders and then pledges to do everything he can to bring them safety and security.

Polls in Israel's major newspapers continued to show Sharon far ahead. A Ma'ariv-Gallup poll showed Sharon with 55 percent of the vote to 34 percent for Barak. A poll in Israel's largest newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, showed Sharon with 56 percent to 38 percent for Barak.

Israeli Arab leaders have called for a boycott of the election and surveys have shown that most Israeli Arab voters do not intend to vote.

Many Israeli Arabs strongly oppose Sharon, seeing him as opposed to the peace process. But the Israeli Arabs say they can no longer support Barak following the deaths last October of 13 Israeli Arabs during clashes with Israeli soldiers.

Explained Israeli Arab Knesset member Azmi Bishara: "I don't think it is possible for the Arab Israelis to tolerate what happened to them and to save Barak from his political destiny, because this will be a green light for prime ministers in the future to deal with the Arabs in the same way: that the Arabs are ... in their pocket. We are very clear about that. We are not in the pocket of anybody.

The Israel Defense Forces said that the Palestinian territories will be sealed off during election day in an attempt to head off any incidents.

Correspondents Jerrold Kessel and Fionnuala Sweeney and news editor Randall H. Harper contributed to this report.

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Israeli Prime Minister's Office
Knesset, The Israeli Parliament
Likud
Meretz Party
Avoda (Labour) Party
World Economic Forum
Palestinian National Authority
PLO Negotiations Affairs Department
Israel Defense Forces
Palestinian Red Crescent
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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