Incumbent Nissenkorn wins in final Histadrut vote count
MK Shelly Yacimovich plans to hold a new vote after she did not accept the results.
By LAHAV HARKOVUpdated: MAY 28, 2017 02:50
Histadrut labor federation chairman Avi Nissenkorn routed MK Shelly Yacimovich (Zionist Union) 62.42%- 37.58% in the race to lead Israel’s biggest union in final votecount results released Friday.Tel Aviv District Court Judge Eitan Israel Orenstin had stopped the count late Wednesday night due to Yacimovich’s allegations of forgeries and vote tampering.Results of the final vote gave Nissenkorn an even bigger lead than the 59%-41% he said he had when he claimed a victory on Tuesday.Former Labor leader Yacimovich did not accept the results, announcing plans to challenge them, cancel the election and hold a new vote.“We live in a democratic state where the election process is proper and supervised, therefore, it’s hard to explain to someone looking from the outside that this is not an election process that normal people experience when they go to the voting booth and vote for the Knesset as they like,” she stated. “I know the rules and respect them when they are worth respecting, but this time, unfortunately, I cannot participate in the honorable ceremony of congratulating the winner because the election was stolen in an institutional and methodical way.”On Tuesday, Nissenkorn said “the members of the Histadrut decided they prefer action over talk,” mocking Yacimovich, who once hosted a radio show called It’s All Talk.Nissenkorn’s victory could give a boost to the Labor Party leadership candidates who backed him, including Amir Peretz and Isaac Herzog. Former environmental minister Avi Gabbay supported Yacimovich and suffered a blow.Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.