With the counting of the army ballots virtually completed, Israel’s final election results disclosed today gave Premier Golda Meir’s Labor Alignment 51 seats in the next Knesset against 39 for the opposition Likud.
The soldier voters gave a 42 percent majority to Likud, ensuring its 39th seat which had been in doubt. The soldiers also reduced the National Religious Party’s mandate from 11 to 10 seats, a loss of two of its 12 seats in the previous Knesset. But the big surprise was the extra seat the army vote gave Mrs. Shulamit Aloni’s Civil Rights list on the ballot for the first time.
Mrs. Aloni, who broke away from the Labor Party last year to stand for election on her own will have three seats in the next Knesset, an impressive showing considering that most other splinter factions running for election for the first time failed to accumulate sufficient votes for the one percent required for a single Knesset seat. Labor’s showing in the army, while less than Likud’s, was good enough to retain its 51st seat which had been in doubt according to the earlier returns.
The NRP, its numbers slightly whittled down was no longer in quite the advantageous bargaining position with Labor that had been indicated by the earlier returns. A further weakening of its position was indicated as Labor made overtures to the Aguda-Poalet Aguda bloc to join a coalition government. But in view of Labor’s loss of six seats from the previous Knesset, it was considered highly unlikely that Mrs. Meir’s party would try to form a coalition without the NRP although it might threaten to do so in the course of bargaining.
URGE SPEEDY FORMATION OF NEW GOVERNMENT
Meanwhile, a prominent Labor Party figure, Minister-Without-Portfolio Israel Galili, urged the speedy formation of a new government. Speaking on a television interview yesterday, Galili said speed was important because of the military-political situation and because the country needed a democratically elected government rather than a transitional care-taker government in the crucial Geneva talks. But Galili said he thought the old government still had authority to reach an agreement with Egypt on disengagement.
Galili, identified with the hawkish wing of the Labor Party, said he was opposed to a national unity government including Likud because Likud opposed the principle of territorial concessions. He said efforts to achieve a peace settlement should include a readiness for territorial compromise, though he warned, “We must be prepared for an Arab refusal to sign a peace agreement based on defensible borders, in which case we shall have to be ready for more political and military struggles.”
LIKUD GETS RELIGIOUS SETTLERS’ VOTE
As a footnote to the national elections, it was learned today that the religious settlers of Hebron and Ramat Magshimim on the Golan Heights voted heavily for Likud last Monday instead of the NRP which had considered them “in its pocket.” The Hebron settlers gave Likud an overwhelming 70 percent of their ballots; on the Golan Heights the Likud vote was somewhat less but still substantial and unexpected. The settlers in both places called on the NRP leadership last night not to back down on their preelection pledge to demand an emergency national coalition government including Likud.
In the municipal elections, Likud control of Tel Aviv became official Friday when the party signed an agreement forming a coalition with the independent Liberals. The new combination will have 16 seats in the 31-member city council against 11 for Labor. The local Likud-leader, Res. Gen. Shlomo Lahat, will be Mayor of Israel’s largest city, replacing Laborite incumbent Yehoshua Rabinowitz.
In Jerusalem, Mayor Teddy Kollek threatened to resign today unless his Labor Party colleagues approve his attempts to form a wall-to-wall coalition of all parties. A showdown is expected when the party leadership meets tomorrow. Labor lost two seats in last Monday’s voting, down to 14 from 16. Kollek has been meeting with Likud leaders and an agreement seems likely. He has already signed an accord with the small Aguda factions and the NRP is expected to join an all-embracing coalition although Labor has strongly rejected its demand for the education portfolio in the city administration.
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