The Labor party made history on Wednesday by electing MK Shelly Yachimovich, in a tight and turbulent race against her former political mentor MK Amir Peretz, as its leader. Yachimovich follows the legacy of Golda Meir and becomes the second woman ever to lead the party. When the final votes were tallied shortly after midnight, it emerged that Yachimovich had won the runoff election with 54 percent of the vote as opposed to Peretz's 45 percent. Yachimovich received 22,229 votes from registered Labor voters, against 18,769 votes that went to Peretz. Voter turnout was 61.6 percent. Peretz called Yachimovich after midnight to congratulate her. "I wish you every success and hope we can form a united front in the fight for all the issues that are important to the state of Israel," he said. Get the Israel Hayom newsletter sent to your mailbox! Yachimovich started her day at the polling station on Zamenhof Street in Tel Aviv. From there she proceeded to her campaign headquarters in the Dizengoff Center mall, where she told volunteers, "We're not happy with the voter turnout. It's good, but not excellent, and lower than the previous round of primaries. I call on anyone who hasn't voted yet to come to the polls as soon as possible and not miss out on the opportunity to influence the future of the Labor party and the state of Israel." "Sympathy and support are not enough," she added. "All that counts are votes and more votes. Everyone needs to come out and make a difference. I even call on those who are not voting for me to come out and fulfill their democratic right on this important day." The voter turnout in various sectors of the population initially caused concern among Yachimovich supporters. There was high turnout among the Arab sector, residents of the country's periphery, and residents of moshavim, all of which are Peretz strongholds. The kibbutzim - which tend to favor Yachimovich - also had a high turnout, but lower than in the Arab sector and periphery. In the places where Yachimovich is considered especially strong -Tel Aviv, the Tel Aviv suburbs, and Jerusalem - voter turnout matched the national average. Peretz, while casting his vote in the morning, said, "Surveys yesterday destroyed the myth that someone could bring more mandates to the Labor party than I can. I would take away the most mandates from the Likud, and these are the mandates that are most necessary for a change of government." Peretz was referring to the results of a survey aired on Israel's Channel 1, which indicated that the Labor party would win the same number of Knesset seats in a general election regardless of whether he or Yachimovich stood at its helm. "The citizens of Israel are in need of renewed hope," Peretz added, "and I have no doubt it is possible to unseat the Likud government. I call on my friends in the kibbutz movement to reflect on the legacy of Rabin, on the peace banner and the social justice banner before you cast your vote. I call on my friends in the Histadrut to vote with their consciences."
Both candidates worked a long day on Wednesday, hoping to spur more than 60,000 registered Labor voters out of their apathy and into polling stations across the nation.
