The gap between prime ministerial candidates Ehud Barak and Likud leader Ariel Sharon has narrowed to 10 percent from almost double that in the latest poll conducted by the former’s campaign staff, reported Haaretz.
The paper cited the last poll conducted by his advisor, Stanley Greenberg, as reflecting a significant narrowing of the gap between Barak and Sharon among Jewish voters.
According to Barak's campaign staff, the gap now stands at 12 percent in favor of Sharon, while earlier polls had the figure at 16 to 18 percent. They added that among the entire population, the gap stands at less than 10 percent.
If this figure is accurate, said the paper, Barak will need a very high voter turnout among Arab voters, at least as high as in the 1999 election, to try eliminating the margin between himself and Sharon.
It added that Barak's staff is continuing its efforts to apply pressure on the leaders of the Arab sector to call on Israel's Arabs to vote for Barak.
MK Dalia Rabin-Pelossof appealed to Arab voters today to vote for Barak, said the paper.
On Tuesday, Barak himself appealed to the nation's Arab population to come out and vote for him, said AFP.
He even spoke some Arabic words with an Egyptian reporter when the Israeli premier stopped to respond to the television journalist's questions in after being surprised on the street on election day.
Barak also talked to the widely watched Al Jazira satellite channel in a move which is seen as being designed to woo Arab voters – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
