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Israeli politicians try to woo potential voters less than 24 hours to elections
[January 21, 2013]

Israeli politicians try to woo potential voters less than 24 hours to elections


JERUSALEM, Jan 21, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- Israeli politicians have visited public venues on Monday and made final efforts in hopes of swaying undecided voters to vote for them in Tuesday's parliamentary elections.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent most of Monday touring the country and meeting with mayors presiding on behalf of his Likud party.

The Likud party in October 2012 announced a merger with former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's far-right Yisrael Beitenu ( Israel Our Home) party, a leading partner in the current coalition government. Opinion polls predict some 33 seats in the future parliament for the joint list.



Meanwhile, the center-left Labor party chief, Shelly Yachimovich, is putting in last-minute efforts to persuade left- wingers who are considering voting for small-scaled parties that might not pass the needed threshold of votes.

The Labor party is expected to become the largest center-left party with a predicted 18 seats in the next Knesset (parliament).


Yachimovich visited a spot in northern Tel Aviv and talked with undecided voters, as well as joining activists of the campaign in making phone calls to potential voters.

A member of Yachimovich's campaign told Xinhua activists have visited over 90,000 homes in attempts to sway potential voters thus far.

Naftali Bennet, the leader of the ultra-right Habayit Hayeudi party, which the polls predict would receive between 13 to 15 seats in the elections, has spent Monday visiting party activists across the country.

Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, met with students Monday morning at the Ben Gurion University in Be'er Sheva.

Former Foreign Minister and leader of Hatnua party Tzipi Livni spent Monday morning at a Tel Aviv mall. She later joined activists in making phone calls to undecided voters as well, while her party's ranking in the polls has dropped in the recent months from a double-digit number to only seven predicted seats in the next Knesset.

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