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The 1980 Israeli Labor Party leadership election was held on 18 December 1980.[1] It saw the delegates to the party's convention reelect Shimon Peres as the party's leader. Peres defeated Yitzhak Rabin.
This was the third of four leadership contests in which Rabin and Peres faced each other (following the 1974 and February 1977 and preceding by the 1992 leadership elections).[2]
The vote took place in advance of the 1981 Knesset election. At the time of the leadership election, Labor was broadly anticipated, per opinion polls, to have a strong performance over rival Likud in that election.[1]
Additionally, prior to his death from a sudden heart attack in late February 1980, Yigal Allon had been campaigning to unseat Peres as party leader, but his prospects of winning were seen as weak.[3] Allon was a political rival of Peres.[4]
Peres was expected to secure a comfortable reelection as party leader.[5] Rabin attempted to persuade the delegates comprising the electorate that he was more popular than Peres, and therefore presented the party with a greater chance at leading in the 1981 Knesset election.[1]
The election's electorate was the 3,101 delegates to the party's convention.[1][5]
Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Shimon Peres (incumbent) | 2,123 | 70.81 | |
Yitzhak Rabin | 875 | 29.19 | |
Total votes | 2,998 | 100 |