Peres’s Supporters Claim Win in Labor Party Elections

Supporters of Labor Party chairman Shimon Peres claimed yesterday that he scored a landslide victory in Tuesday’s Labor Party elections and suggested that his rival, former Premier Yitzhak Rabin concede.

Rabin supporters on the other hand, insisted that the vote for delegates to next month’s party convention was close and that while Peres many have a slight edge among decided delegates, the 15 percent undecided could propel Rabin to party leadership and probably make him the next Prime Minister of Israel.

But the claims of both comps appeared premature. The counting of the votes will not be completed until some time tonight, and even then the winner is not likely to be known for several weeks. The reason lies in the nature of party elections. There were 8000 candidates for the 2601 convention seats. Some, but not all, are known to favor one candidate or the other. The inclinations of the majority of the delegates are not known.

It will take some time to sort out all of the elected delegates and find out whether they intend to vote at the convention for the Rabin comp, the Peres come or possibly someone else. None are bound to any candidate. Therefore, party officials believe that for at least three weeks it will not be possible to evaluate the balance of power.

Peres is believed to have done extremely well in the large cities. Rabin is believed to have scored overwhelmingly in the kibbutzim. While Peres supporters claimed their man polled nearly 70 percent of the votes, Rabin backers insisted their rival received only 45 percent to Rabin’s 40 and that the 15 percent undecided could carry the convention for the former Prime Minister Both sides agree that the turnout was heavy. Nearly 60 percent of the 260,000 eligible voters cost ballots.