Exit polls suggest Kadima victory in Israeli elections
{{date|March 28, 2006}}
[[Image:Ehud Olmert (Sao Paulo 2005).jpg|thumb|right|Ehud Olmert]]
Early exit polls for the Israeli parliamentary elections suggest that the newly formed [[w:Kadima|Kadima]] party of Prime Minister [[w:Ariel Sharon|Ariel Sharon]] and Acting PM [[w:Ehud Olmert|Ehud Olmert]] managed to capture between 28 and 32 seats in the 17th Knesset with [[w:Israeli Labor Party|Labor]] coming in second with 20 to 22 seats ahead of [[w:Yisrael Beiteinu|Yisrael Beiteinu]] with 12 to 14 seats. [[w:Likud|Likud]] got 11 or 12 seats, the [[w:National Religious Party|National Religious Party]] took 8 or 9 seats and [[w:Shas|Shas]] 10 or 11 seats. The Pensioners party performed better than expected, capturing 6 to 8 seats, [[w:United Torah Judaism|United Torah Judaism]] got 5 to 6 seats and [[w:Meretz|Meretz]] around 5 seats. Arab parties are expected to get 7 or 8 seats.

The results mean that Olmert could probably form a center-left coaltion to implement his unilateral disengagement plan for the [[w:West Bank|West Bank]].

"Kadima has won today. The next prime minister is Ehud Olmert," said Roni Bar-On, a Member of the Knesset for Kadima. His party did worse than expected from opinion polls, which saw them at gaining about 40 seats.

"This a crisis unlike any that has ever hit Likud," said Dan Naveh, a senior MK of the party referring to Likud's fall from being one of the dominating Israeli parties in the last decades to finishing only 4th.

Correspondents for the BBC stress that Israeli exit polls are considered to be relatively unreliable, and that it may take some time to get definitive results.

== Sources ==
{{wikipediapar|Israel legislative election, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/699377.html|title=Exit polls show center-left bloc winning 62-66 seats|author=|pub=Haaretz|date=March 28, 2006}}

*{{source|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/699815.html|title=Kadima MKs hail Ehud Olmert as next the prime minister|author=|pub=Haaretz|date=March 28, 2006}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4855154.stm|title=Polls close in Israeli election|author=|pub=BBC News Online|date=March 28, 2006}}
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[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:Israel]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
[[Category:Elections]]
[[Category:Ehud Olmert]]
[[Category:Likud]]
[[Category:Kadima]]
[[Category:Knesset]]
[[Category:Ariel Sharon]]
[[Category:West Bank]]

[[fr:Élections législatives en Israël]]
Ehud Olmert
Early exit polls for the Israeli parliamentary elections suggest that the newly formed Kadima party of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Acting PM Ehud Olmert managed to capture between 28 and 32 seats in the 17th Knesset with Labor coming in second with 20 to 22 seats ahead of Yisrael Beiteinu with 12 to 14 seats. Likud got 11 or 12 seats, the National Religious Party took 8 or 9 seats and Shas 10 or 11 seats. The Pensioners party performed better than expected, capturing 6 to 8 seats, United Torah Judaism got 5 to 6 seats and Meretz around 5 seats. Arab parties are expected to get 7 or 8 seats.

The results mean that Olmert could probably form a center-left coaltion to implement his unilateral disengagement plan for the West Bank.

"Kadima has won today. The next prime minister is Ehud Olmert," said Roni Bar-On, a Member of the Knesset for Kadima. His party did worse than expected from opinion polls, which saw them at gaining about 40 seats.

"This a crisis unlike any that has ever hit Likud," said Dan Naveh, a senior MK of the party referring to Likud's fall from being one of the dominating Israeli parties in the last decades to finishing only 4th.

Correspondents for the BBC stress that Israeli exit polls are considered to be relatively unreliable, and that it may take some time to get definitive results.

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Politics and conflicts Israel Middle East Elections Ehud Olmert Likud Kadima Knesset Ariel Sharon West Bank