Region | Palestinian Territories
Kadima wins election
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has pledged to continue with plans to give up parts of the West Bank after his Kadima party won the Israeli election.
- Agencies
- Published: 23:32 May 3, 2009
Jerusalem: Interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party has won the Israeli election with a small majority and will now form a coalition government.
The centre-left Labour party is a strong candidate to be part of the coalition.
They won 20 seats, just eight less than Kadima whose 28 seats fell short of expectations.
The election suffered from a lower turnout than in previous years, with many voters shunning Kadima in favour of smaller, more ideological parties.
Following his victory Olmert pledged to continue with plans to give up parts of the West Bank and impose a border on Palestinians if peacemaking efforts remain frozen.
Speaking at his party's election headquarters, he said "Today Israeli democracy has spoken clearly. Israel wants Kadima."
The ultra-Orthodox Shas party won 13 seats, ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu got 12 and the right wing Likud party won 11.
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