Zehava Galon reconquers Meretz leadership in party primaries

Four years after stepping down as party leader, Galon completes comeback after beating Deputy Economy Minister Yair Golan with 60% of the vote; 'like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Meretz came back to life tonight,' she says
Yuval Karni|
Zehava Galon was elected the leader of the Meretz Party on Tuesday after beating Deputy Economy Minister Yair Golan with 60% of the vote, four years after stepping down from the dovish party's top job.
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  • The vote, in which constituents also chose the makeup of the party slate, was held digitally and saw 81% voter turnout.
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    הכרזת תוצאות פריימריז מרצ
    הכרזת תוצאות פריימריז מרצ
    Newly elected Meretz leader Zehava Galon
    (Photo: Moti Kimchi)
    Mossi Raz came in first with the most votes and will serve as Galon's deputy. He is followed by Michal Rozin, the party's whip in the outgoing government, and MK Ali Salalha.
    Coming off his defeat to Galon, Golan finished fourth in the run for the party slate and fifth in total.
    Outgoing Meretz chairman and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz slipped all the way to seventh place and is not expected to be in the next Knesset as opinion polls project the left-wing party will secure six seats in the November 1 general election.
    In her victory speech, Galon voiced optimism about the party's prospects in the upcoming vote after some recent polls suggested the party would struggle to pass the electoral threshold of 3.25% of the total vote, or 4 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, after a series of high-profile departures, including Merertz ministers Issawi Frej and Tamar Zandberg who have announced they will not take part in the primaries.
    2 View gallery
    הכרזת תוצאות פריימריז מרצ
    הכרזת תוצאות פריימריז מרצ
    Galon (center, in white) and
    (Photo: Yariv Katz)
    "To all those who eulogized Meretz, I have news for you: like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Meretz came back to life tonight. Starting tonight, Meretz is back on an upward trajectory," she said.
    "On November 1, we will see hundreds of thousands of leftists throng to Meretz and carry us into the next Knesset and the government for change," she added, referring to a coalition of parties that vowed to keep former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his conservative-religious bloc from retaking the levers of power.
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