Members of Israel's ruling Kadima party elected 22 candidates for legislative elections due in February. Party leader Tzipi Livni faces tough competition from former Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party which is ahead in the polls.
Due to conditions which Livini describes as "economically and diplomatically illegitimate", the leader of the Kadima Party has decided to call for early elections instead of further pursuing a coalition government.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's Kadima party and the Labour Party inked a draft deal to form a government. The two parties have yet to ratify the agreement and find a third coalition partner to secure a parliamentary majority.
Israeli Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, who narrowly lost out to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Wednesday's vote to elect the chief of Israel's ruling Kadima party, said he was quitting politics for a while.
Following her close victory in the race to succeed Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima Party, questions remain about Tzipi Livni's ability to form the coalition necessary to avoid a general election in Israel.
The departure of lame-duck Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has left the leadership of the Kadima Party open to two potential candidates: Tzipi Livni and Shaul Mofaz. Whoever wins will have the challenge of securing the party's power.
