Two days before Israeli ruling Kadima party's leadership primary, a poll showed a landslide victory for Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni over her main opponent transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, local daily Ha'aretz reported Monday on its website.

According to the poll, conducted by a Ha'aretz-Dialogue and Channel 10, in the first round, Livni is expected to win 47 percent of the vote and Mofaz 28 percent, while Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter would each get 6 percent.

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni attends a meeting with her Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos (not pictured) in Tel Aviv September 15, 2008. [Xinhua/Reuters Photo]

Despite Mofaz's confidence at a press conference on Sunday, where he predicted he would win with 43.7 percent of the vote, it appears he would have reason to worry even if there was a second round of voting. A second round would be held should no candidate secure over 40 percent in the first round.

The poll showed that even in a second round vote, Livni would beat Mofaz by a 17 percent margin, with 50 percent versus 33 percent.

The poll was conducted Sunday among 1,808 registered Kadima voters who were asked if they plan to vote on Wednesday. 70 percent of them replied "absolutely" and 24 percent answered "I think so."  

Only 3 percent of respondents said they did not plan to vote, according to the poll. The margin of error for each question was 2.4 percent.

Livni, however, expressed wariness over voter complacency in the wake of the flattering poll. At a concluding conference she led Sunday at the Tel Aviv Exhibition Grounds, she called on registered Kadima voters to get out the vote on Wednesday.

"Not voting is an irresponsible act," Livni told the crowd. "We can't afford it."

Wednesday's primaries, which mark the first in Kadim a history, are expected to draw 74,000 voters to 144 voting booths at 93 different sites, said Ha'aretz, adding that voting will begin at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) and end about ten hours later.

Last Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reaffirmed that he would step down as soon as Kadima chooses his successor, as he had promised.

Embroiled in a series of police investigations against him and amid mounting calls to leave office, Olmert announced in late July that he would not compete in the Kadima race and would resign upon the election of his replacement.

(Xinhua News Agency September 16, 2008)