Peres favourite for president
2007-01-26 14:49
Jerusalem - The battle to succeed Israel's disgraced president got under way on Friday, with veteran politician Shimon Peres favoured to gain the prestigious post that slipped from his grasp seven years ago.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has proposed an amendment that would change the way parliament votes for the head of state from a secret to an open ballot - a move thought to boost the chances of the election of the deputy prime minister to the seven-year post, a senior official told AFP.
"Olmert wants to advance the candidacy of Shimon Peres" for the largely ceremonial post, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Olmert was due to propose his change at the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, the official added.
In a shock defeat in July 2000, Nobel peace laureate Peres lost the contest for the presidency to Moshe Katsav of the right-wing Likud party, after the defection of one of the members of the then governing coalition.
Observers say an open ballot boosts Peres's chances because it gives Olmert more power to impose vote discipline among deputies of his centrist Kadima party and its coalition members, who currently control 78 votes in the 120-seat Knesset.
Katsav, who became Israel's first president from a right-wing party following his win over Peres in 2000, has been temporarily suspended from his post after the attorney general announced he would indict him on a slew of charges including rape, sexual harassment and abuse of power.