Former Defense Minister Ariel Sharon won a stunning upset tonight when the Herut Central Committee gave him 41 percent of the vote in his bid to replace Premier Yitzhak Shamir in the top spot on the Likud election list.
Shamir, who won 59 percent of the vote, a very poor showing for an incumbent Prime Minister and party leader, will head the Likud list in the July 23 elections. But Sharon is now assured of a powerful position at the top level of Likud and a senior Cabinet post should Likud head the next government.
After the vote, both men were warmly welcomed into the hall. Sharon delivered a speech praising Herut’s democratic process and seemed conciliatory toward Shamir. He was applauded when he called for “a unanimous open vote” for Shamir as the next Premier, to affirm the results of the secret balloting.
Observers noted that only 75 percent — 679 out of more than 1,100 — of the Central Committee members turned up for the voting tonight. They said that was a blow to Shamir because it indicated indifference among his supposed supporters. Pundits had said earlier that if Sharon won as much as 30 percent of the vote he would have achieved a substantial victory.
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