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Zionist Union's Livni waives power-sharing deal ahead of elections

Xinhua, March 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Zionist Union's co-leader Tzipi Livni said Monday she would forgo a deal to rotate premiership with Isaac Herzog, in a last ditch attempt to win support for the party just one day before parliamentary elections.

Livni, head of the Hatnua party, teamed up with the Labor party in December, last year.

In a statement released on her behalf Monday night, Livni said she is "relinquishing her right - as agreed when Hatnua joined the Labor party - to rotate leadership of Israel with Isaac Herzog," should the center-left Zionist Union form Israel's next coalition.

Livni further told Herzog that rotation should not "become a hurdle in coalition negotiations," and stressed that the main issue is replacing incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Livni, who was Israel's chief negotiator in peace talks with Palestinians, is unpopular among right-wing voters. She was largely absent from the Zionist Union's campaigns.

The move is the latest attempt by the Zionist Union to boost its support among center and right-wing voters.

The Zionist Union is in a neck-and-neck race with Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, with last week's polls projecting a narrow four-three-seat gap in favor of the Zionist Union. Endit