Narrow lead projected for Kadima Party

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-11-2009 09:02

Exit polls in Israel suggest Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's Kadima Party won a narrow lead in Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday.

But a strong showing by hardline rivals will make it difficult for her to form a coalition government or pursue more talks with the Palestinian group Fatah.

Israeli Kadima party supporters react after hearing exit poll results at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv  February 10, 2009.REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen

Israel's three main TV stations released exit polls as voting ended on Tuesday.

All of them showed Kadima with a narrow edge over Binyamin Netanyahu's hardline Likud Party.

A survey by Israeli TV Channel 10 projected 30 seats for Kadima in the 120-member parliament, compared with 28 for Likud.

Preliminary results are expected early on Wednesday, local time.

The results, if confirmed, mark a stunning turn of events for Netanyahu, who had long held a solid lead in opinion polls.

Despite Kadima's narrow lead, Likud said it was in a better position to put together a parliamentary majority, as the projections showed hardline parties winning more than half the seats.

If Livni is to form a government, she will have to try to put together a coalition with other factions.

As foreign minister, she has led Israel's talks with Fatah which controls the Palestinian government in the West Bank, and she has said she would continue those talks if she wins this election.

Netanyahu and his hardline allies are opposed to giving back any land to the Palestinians and want to accelerate the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

In the coming days, President Shimon Peres will ask the leader who he believes is most capable of forming a coalition to try to put together a government.

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Editor:Zhang Pengfei