Several hours after he was announced as the new leader of the Labor Party, Histadrut Chairman Amir Peretz on Thursday returned to his political roots to outline his political vision as the Labor candidate for premiership.

The victory is an unexpected result and a blow to the Labor old guard by Histadrut labor federation chairman Amir Peretz who was named Thursday morning the new chairman of the Labor Party, defeating the incumbent and favorite, Vice Premier Shimon Peres.

Speaking near the grave of slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at the Mount Hertzl cemetery in Jerusalem, Peretz stressed that reaching a peace accord with the Palestinians is at the top of his political priority list.

"We will not rest until we reach a permanent agreement (with the Palestinians) that would secure a safe future for our children and that would provide us with renewed hope to live in a region where people lead a life of cooperation and not, God forbid, where blood is shed from time to time," Peretz said.

The new Labor chairman emphasized this move is a direct continuation of Rabin's political heritage: "I came today to make a vow to Rabin, once again, that I intend to do everything I can to continue his way, I intend to do everything I can so that [Rabin's] assassin would know he failed to murder peace."

Peretz recounted his long tenure as a loyal supporter of the late prime minister: "I was by Rabin's side in the days he struggled for his place in Israeli politics, I was with him in his days of isolation, and also in the days of overwhelming support from the people of Israel when they flooded him with warmth and admiration. I was also next to him on that dreadful night when we lost Yitzhak (Rabin) in the murder that shocked Israel and sought to severe and end his life and his way."

Soon after the official results were announced, the new Labor chief quickly reiterated his intention of pulling the party out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government, propelling the country into political disarray and advancing the likelihood of early general elections.

"We will notify the prime minister that we want to leave. We want to leave... certainly out of a desire to turn the Labor Party into an alternative that intends to take power in the next elections," he said.

"Amir will discuss with the prime minister an agreed date for an election," said Yuli Tamir, a Labor legislator and Peretz supporter.


PERETZ ADDRESSES THE DISAFFECTED

In a victory speech carried early Thursday morning and aimed squarely at disaffected voters of both Labor and the Likud, Peretz drilled home the message that the party would redefine its priorities, focusing anew on such bread-and-butter issues as raising the minimum wage.

Appropriating the language of the Likud, Peretz spoke repeatedly of a new Labor Party constituting a home for Sephardim, workers of all ethnic backgrounds, new immigrants and other groups who have expressed resentment at the social-welfare budget cuts championed by Sharon's former finance minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Peretz cited the political turning point of 1977, when the Likud first unseated Labor, breaking a 29-year lock on power.

"Menachem Begin succeeded in effecting a turn-about not under the banner of Eretz Israel Ha-Shalema [Greater Israel], but under the banner of Eretz Israel Ha-Shniya [the Second Israel], a reference to disadvantaged Sephardim that have remained a pillar of Likud support.

Peretz said it was no longer true that veteran Likud voters would never leave their party, because in its economic policies "the Likud has left them."

"We will not allow the prime minister to duck responsibility for this. Even if he goes around from morning 'til night saying, 'It's not me, it's Bibi [Netanyahu], it's not me, it's Bibi - Sir, you are the one who was prime minister, and gave absolute backing to harming the weakest sectors in this nation."

Peretz declared that the "ethnic demon" was Israel's most serious enemy. "We embrace our brothers the new immigrants, we embrace our brothers the Arabs, we embrace our brothers the Druze," he said, in a long speech punctuated by applause and the cheers of his supporters, many of whom, like social activist and onetime Labor ideologue Aryeh (Lova) Eliav, had in the past been shunted to the sidelines and even out of the party by Labor's Old Guard.

The new Labor leader stood on a dais that highlighted faces the party had not seen in years, notably that of Addisu Messele, once Israel's only Ethiopian MK, who in 1999 publicly charged that Labor had rigged the results of a party primary in order to make sure that Russian-born Sofia Landver would receive the slot intended for a new immigrant on the party's electoral list.

Peretz also appealed to his leadership rival, 82-year-old Shimon Peres, asking for his support.

"Shimon, I want you by my side," Peretz said. "Don't leave us alone, Shimon. If not for me, then do it for the party's sake; if not for the party, then do it for the country."


WINNER OF A TIGHTLY-RUN RACE

The voting result, which came at dawn, followed a tightly-run race between the two opponents, which initially showed a slight lead for Peres.

Peretz, a fiery union leader, wants to steer the party back to its socialist roots, pull out of the coalition and force early elections. His message has resonated with Israelis disenfranchised by government cuts in social spending and the country's growing gap between rich and poor.

Shortly after 6 A.M., amid cheering from Peretz's supporters, Labor Secretary-General Eitan Cabel announced that Peretz had won with 42.35 percent of the votes, while Peres was backed by 39.96 percent of voters. In third place was Benjamin Ben Eliezer, with 16.82 percent of the vote.

Cabel was quick to rebuff claims of fraud and irregularities in the elections, which caused Peres to issue a last minute call for a halt in the count.

The release of the vote's final results was stalled by several hours as the Labor election committee, led by Cabel, headed early Thursday morning to the vote counting center in Petah Tikva after several claims of fraud in polling stations.


PERES APPEALS AGAINST RESULTS

In a pre-dawn press conference, Peres called on Labor's legal institutions to look into claims of severe irregularities in polling stations in Sderot and Be'er Sheva, two Peretz strongholds.

Some of the vote results "raised exceptional doubts," Peres said. "It is unreasonable that in communities where I had a majority I have now dropped to seven votes."

"I expected a better evening," Peres said.

Sitting alongside Peres, former prime minister Ehud Barak said the outcome of the primaries did not reflect the will of the party's voters.

But several hours later, the election committee announced it had rejected Peres' claims of fraud and okayed the completing of the counting of the votes in the remaining 13 polling stations from a total of 318.

Peretz did not immediately respond to the accusations, but his supporters were already claiming victory.

The Peretz camp erupted into celebrations when the Histadrut chief took the lead in the vote count early Thursday, and Israel Radio said he was headed to party headquarters to make an announcement. The uncounted districts were believed to favor Peretz, and Israeli radio stations said his victory was imminent.


IMPLICATIONS FOR GOVERNMENT

The outcome of the vote will have wide-ranging implications for the future of Sharon's shaky governing coalition, in which Labor is the junior member.

Peres had said that he would keep Labor in the government until the next elections scheduled in November 2006.

The 82-year-old politician led Labor into the government this year to shore up support for Sharon's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. The pullout divided Sharon's Likud Party, and without Labor support, the plan could not have been carried out.