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Israeli legislators cast ballots for new president to succeed Shimon Peres
JERUSALEM – Israeli legislators have started voting to choose the country’s next president to replace outgoing Shimon Peres.
The largely ceremonial office of Israel’s presidency is typically filled by a respected elder statesman who is expected to rise above politics and serve as a moral compass for the country. Whoever is elected likely will pale in comparison to Peres, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who brought international gravitas to the position.
Tuesday’s vote caps a nasty race full of mudslinging and the derailment of two campaigns by scandals.
Lawmakers in the 120-member Knesset are voting in a secret ballot. Five candidates are vying for the spot. The front-runner is Reuven Rivlin, a veteran politician from the hawkish Likud party who opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Results are expected later Tuesday.
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