Mofaz elected head of Israel's Kadima

Shaul Mofaz was elected as head of Israel's main Kadima opposition party, defeating his rival and current leader Tzipi Livni, preliminary results showed early on Wednesday. According to an initial sampling of 127 of the 197 ballot boxes, Mofaz had secured some 65 percent of the vote, compared with Livni's 35 percent, Israel's main television and radio stations reported. Turnout among the party's 95,000 voters, who began casting their ballots at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) on Tuesday, was 45 percent. Pundits had predicted a very tight race between Livni and her deputy, but the preminary results showed Mofaz taking a decisive lead. Kadima is currently the largest party in parliament, holding 28 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, but a series of recent polls suggest the faction is likely to see that number halved in the next elections. Those elections are officially tabled for October 2013, but rumours of an early election are rife. Observers are speculating they could take place before the end of this year, despite denials by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud party.