Israel's Labour party votes for new head

A former defence minister, a one-time TV journalist, an ex-mayor and a scion of one of Israel's top political families face off on Monday in a fight for the leadership of the Labour party. The once-mighty party, now reduced to eight seats in the 120-member parliament, has been without a chairman since Defence Minister Ehud Barak jumped ship in January to form the centrist "Independence" movement. Polls across the country will open at 10:00 am (0700 GMT) and close 12 hours later, with results expected at around midnight (2100 GMT). The 66,310 Labour members eligible to vote in the primary will choose between Shelly Yacimovich, Amir Peretz, Isaac Herzog and Amram Mitzna. Peretz, 59, and Yacimovich, 51, are deemed to be the front-runners. If none of the candidates wins 40 percent of the poll, a second round of elections will be held on September 21. "Let's win in the first round," Yacimovich said in a statement ahead of the vote. "We are strong in the field, in organisation, in spirit and in the polls -- but complacency is a dangerous enemy." Formerly a leading journalist and television presenter who was elected to parliament in 2006 under Peretz's patronage, Yacimovich has been enjoying the support of the Israeli media in this race, praised for her clear social agenda and hailed as the faltering Labour party's last hope. Peretz, who once headed Israel's Histadrut trades union federation, was defence minister during the 2006 Lebanon War which claimed the lives of 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers, and was widely considered a failure by Israelis. He gave up the portfolio the following year, after losing to Barak in a party leadership battle. Hertzog, who has held several cabinet posts, is the son of Israel's sixth president Haim Herzog, and his aunt was married to noted Israeli diplomat and statesman Abba Eban. While many deem him a talented administrator, many also consider that he lacks the charisma needed to lead the party's rehabilitation. "I predict a close battle that won't be determined in the first round," Herzog said in an announcement on Sunday. "I will be the surprise of this vote." Mitzna, a retired general, has served as mayor both of the northern port city of Haifa and the gritty southern town of Yeroham. He won the November 2002 Labour leadership contest but quit the job six months later after taking his party to what was then its worst defeat since the country was founded in 1948, ending up with just 19 parliamentary seats.