2003 Israeli Labor Party interim leadership election

The 2003 Israeli Labor Party leadership election was held on 19 June 2003[1] to elect the leader of the Israeli Labor Party. It saw the party's Central Committee elect former prime minister and former longtime party leader Shimon Peres as the party's interim leader.

2003 Israeli Labor Party interim leadership election

← 2002 19 June 2003 2005 →
Turnout52%
 
Candidate Shimon Peres Efraim Sneh Danny Atar
Party Labor Labor Labor
Popular vote 631 359 281
Percentage 49.65% 28.25% 22.11%

Leader before election

Vacant
(most recently Amram Mitzna)

Elected Leader

Shimon Peres (interim)

Background

edit

The leadership vote took place following Labor's heavy defeat in the 2003 Israeli legislative election held in January.[1][2] Quickly after this defeat, Amram Mitzna announced his resignation as party leader.[2]

Unlike the party's regular leadership elections since 1992 (which have been open to its general membership, with the exception of the 1995 leadership election held under extraordinary circumstances), the electorate of this election consisted only of members of the party's Central Committee.[1]

Candidates

edit

Results

edit

Peres won a strong victory over his two younger rivals. However, his margin of the vote was less than many had anticipated he would receive.[1] This was the fifth and final Israeli Labor Party leadership vote that Peres would win, after the 1977, April 1977, 1980, and 1984 leadership elections. It was also the eight Israeli Labor Party leadership election that Peres had run in, as, in addition to the aforementioned leadership elections that he won, he had unsuccessfully run in the 1974, February 1977, and 1992 leadership elections.[3] Peres would go on to unsuccessfully run in one final leadership election when he ran unsuccessfully in the following 2005 leadership election.

2003 Israeli Labor Party interim leadership election[4]
Candidate Votes %
Shimon Peres 631 49.65
Efraim Sneh 359 28.25
Danny Atar 281 22.11
Total votes 1,271 100
Abstentions 11 n/a
Voter turnout 52%

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d "Israel's Labor Party Picks Peres as Its Interim Leader". Newspapers.com. Los Angeles Times. Reuters. 20 June 2003. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Hazboun, Ibrahim (29 January 2003). "Palestinians fear impact of hardliners' victory". Newspapers.com. The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
  3. ^ Kenig, Ofer (2009). "Democratizing Party Leadership Selection in Israel: A Balance Sheet". Israel Studies Forum. 24 (1): 62–81. ISSN 1557-2455. JSTOR 41805011. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  4. ^ "פרס נבחר ליו"ר הזמני: "נחזיר את המפלגה לגדולתה"" [Peres was elected temporary chairman: "We will return the party to greatness"]. ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2022-06-24.