Cohen, Oron headed for Meretz slate

By HILARY LEILA KRIEGER
MKs Ran Cohen and Haim Oron each received enough backing Monday from the Meretz-Yahad convention to run for a slot on the slate the party will present to the public. The voting on who among the 28 candidates would be assigned to the 20 available slots took place Monday evening, with no results available by press time. Cohen and Oron, as MKs who have served in the Knesset for more than eight years, had to receive at least 60 percent of the convention's approval in a preliminary tally held before voting on the list of 20 candidates began. Monday's later vote only determined which 20 individuals will be on the Meretz-Yahad list. The actual order will be decided by the 1,000-member convention in a separate vote on January 16. The first slot is reserved for party chairman Yossi Beilin. MKs Zahava Gal-On and Avshalom Vilan will join Cohen and Oron in vying to retain their Knesset seats. The list reserves eight spots for men, eight spots for women, three spots for Arabs and one spot for someone under 35.