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Close vote defeat

NZPA-Reuter Tel Aviv The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Yitzhak Shamir defeated the former Defence Minister, Ariel Sharon, yesterday in a contest to decide who should lead the governing Likud bloc in the General Election in July. The result was far closer than predicted. Mr Shamir captured 407 of the 725 votes cast. Mr Sharon, who had not been expected to get more than 20 per cent of the vote, won 306 (41 per cent). The outcome was certain to strengthen the hardline Mr Sharon’s campaign to win back his post as Defence Minister. He lost the job after a judicial inquiry found that he was indirectly to blame for the massacre of Palestinian refugees by militiamen at Beirut in 1982. The election was held by members of the central committee of the Herat (Freedom) Party, the dominant faction in the Rightwing Likud bloc. The opposition Labour Party has already selected its chairman, Shimon Peres, to lead it through the election campaign. Yesterday’s vote was apparently affected by an unexpectedly low turn-out of Herut delegates. The outcome was still viewed as a blow for Mr Shamir’s prestige and a boost for the hawkish Mr Sharon.

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19840414.2.87.13

Bibliographic details

Press, 14 April 1984, Page 11

Word Count
197

Close vote defeat Press, 14 April 1984, Page 11

Close vote defeat Press, 14 April 1984, Page 11