Tight Race in Israel's Labor Leader Vote

Israel's Labor party, the government's main opposition, on Thursday started voting for a new leader, with members choosing between current head Shelly Yachimovich and rival Yitzhak Herzog.

Some 55,000 Labor members were to choose between Yachimovich and parliamentary faction chairman Herzog, with the vote ending at 10:00 pm (2000 GMT). Results were to be published early Friday.

The 54-year-old Yachimovich has led Labor since 2011, and despite a decline in popularity since the party lost the last general election late in 2012, she remains the preferred candidate, according to left-leaning newspaper Haaretz.

But the offices of both candidates claimed significant support, according to Haaretz, each saying they had well over 20,000 supporters.

The more experienced Herzog, 53, has held several ministerial portfolios in the past, during Labor's terms in office or as part of ruling coalitions.

His lack of charisma, however, was likely to make him second choice for Labor leader, according to Haaretz.

"A 'good boy' in the worst sense of the term, he is a workaholic and grey politician, a sort of Israeli Francois Hollande," the paper wrote, in a reference to France's socialist president.

The Times of Israel on its website cited a poll commissioned by journalist Nissim Mishal projecting a Yachimovich win with 64 percent against 36 for Herzog.