The negotiations among the various parties for the naming of mayors of cities and large towns in Israel continue to hold the center of the political stage in this country. In virtually no city or region did any one party gain a clear majority of the votes and negotiations for coalition municipal administrations must be completed before mayors can be named.
An agreement between the Mapai and the Mapam on a united labor front in cities where the labor forces together gained a majority was almost reached yesterday at a meeting of the political committees of both parties. However, a last-minute hitch prevented the signing of the pact.
Meanwhile, the Mapai is exploring the possibility of uniting with the Religious forces in areas where the two groups may be able to control the administration. However, in Jerusalem a serious snag has been hit with the demand by the Orthodox parties that they be given the right to name the mayor. The Religious groups have not yet come to any agreement among themselves as to whom they will offer. A Mapai spokesman said today that if a Mapai mayor cannot be named in Jerusalem, the Labor Party will back Daniel Auster, Progressive, the current Mayor.
In Haifa the negotiations have been complicated by the Mapam’s strong opposition to the Mapai candidate, Aba Chushi. Mr. Chushi is secretary of the Haifa Labor Council and a member of the Histadrut executive.
A report on the elections by the Knesset Committee on Internal Affairs today presented the following final results: The Mapai received 92,589 votes, which comes to 27.9 percent of the total and represents a loss of 6.7 percent compared to the general election results of January, 1949; the General Zionist Party received 80,202 votes, 24.9 percent, an increase of 17.8 percent.
The Mapam received 37,364 votes, 11.2 percent, an increase of 0.3 percent; Herut, 33,317, 10 percent; Progressive Zionists, 15,055, virtually unchanged; and the Communist Party, 7,385, 2.2 percent, a loss of 0.3 percent. No figures were given on the Orthodox groups as a whole.
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