Israeli political landscape unclear

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-11-2009 13:35

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is urging her right-wing rival, Benjamin Netanyahu to join a Kadima-led unity government.

Exit polls suggest a narrow victory for Kadima, but it remains unclear who will emerge as the winner in the end.

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni waves to supporters upon her arrival at party headquarters in Tel Aviv, February 11, 2009. (Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Over two-thirds of the votes have been counted and exit polls have Livni's Kadima party winning the most votes in Israel's general election.

A survey by Israeli TV Channel 10 suggests Kadima won 30 seats in the 120-member parliament, while its main rival, the right-wing Likud party, got 28.

The poll also found that an ultra nationalist party and the center-left Labor party gained 15 and 13 seats respectively.

Ballots cast by soldiers on bases around the country won't be tallied until Thursday evening.

That could shift the results by a seat or two. If she wins, Livni would become Israel's second female prime minister after Golda Meir.

But analysts say even if she forms a government, the right-wing coalition partners would oppose to her vision of giving up land in exchange for a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Netanyahu is calling for a broad based coalition, but says he'll first turn to his "natural partners in the national camp,"