2008 Meretz leadership election

2008 Meretz leadership election

← 2004 18 March 2008 2012 →
Turnout	72.95%
Candidate Haim Oron Ran Cohen Zehava Galon Party Meretz Meretz Meretz Popular vote 5,709 2,830 1,891 Percentage 54.5% 27.1% 18.1%
Leader before election Yossi Beilin Elected Leader Haim Oron

The 2008 Meretz leadership election was held on 18 March 2008.^[1]

Candidates

Ran

• Ran Cohen, member of the Knesset since 1984 and former minister of industry and trade (1999–2000)
• Zehava Galon, member of the Knesset since 1999
• Haim Oron, member of the Knesset (1988–2000 and again since 2003) and former minister of agriculture (1999–2000)

Withdrew

• Yossi Beilin, incumbent party leader^[2]

Campaign

After Oron declared that he would run for party leader, incumbent party leader Yossi Beilin withdrew from the election.^[2]

Election system and conduct

The election was open to all members of the party.^[1] If no candidate had secured an outright majority of the vote in the initial round, a runoff election would have been held.^[2]

On the day of the election, Cohen filed a complaint with the party's election committee alleging irregularities at some polling stations. Galon demanded that three polling stations located in Deir al-Asad have their votes discounted, alleging that her campaign's representatives were blocked from overseeing the voting there and were physically assaulted.^[2]

Results

Around 75% of party members participated in the election.^[1] Oron won the outright majority required to forgo a runoff election, winning the party's leadership outright in the initial round of voting.^[1][2]

References