Israel’s Labor party internal appeals court postponed naming Knesset speaker, Avraham Burg, who won the party’s primaries, as chairman until all appeals against voter fraud have been investigated, said Haaretz newspaper.
The court also recommended that Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer take his allegations to the police, due to the seriousness of the charges.
According to the results published, Burg won the election with 50. 2 percent of the vote, while Ben-Eliezer received 48.5 percent.
Lawyers representing Burg argued that according to the party's constitution, the court was obligated to appoint Burg party chairman immediately. The court, however, rejected their argument, said the paper.
Ben-Eliezer has made allegations of massive voter fraud in the Druze community.
Burg gave a victory speech Thursday evening, even though the official results were not yet announced.
"There is a great deal of hatred among us, yet there is also love and it is love that will triumph," he said in reference to his rival, Ben Eliezer.
"There is a new party, that is civil, equal and chasing peace," Burg said, cited by Haaretz.
He also said that Labor "is now returning to the values of justice and peace" and will not be "number two to the Likud."
Burg added that efforts to rebuild the party - devastated by Ehud Barak's double-digit defeat to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last year - would begin immediately.
Without mentioning his rival by name, Burg attacked the appeal by Ben-Eliezer regarding the election results as an attempt "to destroy the Labor Party from within."
Burg also charged the Ben-Eliezer campaign of being involved with forged ballots as he said election results were questionable in small farming communities where Ben-Eliezer won more votes than Burg.
Burg also called on Ben-Eliezer's supporters to refrain from building "encampments" inside the party, and promised them an equal place within the party. However, they were not present in the audience because after concerns that they would disrupt Burg's address, security guards prevented them from entering the hall.
The chairman of the Labor Party election committee, Effi Stenzler, said earlier that he would recommend a recount of all the ballots in the party's leadership primary which was held Tuesday.
The proposal was apparently initiated in order not to offend the party's Druze voters, who have been accused of electoral fraud by Ben-Eliezer.
However, the committee did adopt Stenzler's call, because Burg had a majority among the committee members – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
