ISRAEL: ELECTIONS: WRAP 2

(6 Feb 2001) Natural Sound Ariel Sharon, looks set to sweep to election victory against Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who staked his job to a peace treaty he has been unable to deliver. Just a few months ago, Sharon, 72, was widely regarded as too old and scarred by controversy to win election. But much has changed in those few months and it's a very different election to the one which brought Barak to power less than two years ago. Tough-talking opposition leader Ariel Sharon is widely expected to clinch a stunning political comeback on Monday. Polls give him a 20-point lead over moderate Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The vote is being cast as a referendum on how Israel sees its relationship with the Palestinians. In the predominantly Ultra-Orthodox district of Geula in Jerusalem, voters went to the polls early. They make up some nine per cent of the electorate - around 400-thousand people, and are expected to vote en masse for the hawkish Likud leader. Their spiritual leaders have called on them to back Sharon following disillusionment with Barak and what is viewed as a slide towards secularism. Many say they are looking at which leader would best protect them if the current violence escalated into a full-scale war. Sharon is seen as being more likely to end the Palestinian uprising that erupted last September, and less likely to give away parts of east Jerusalem in peace negotiations. SOUNDBITE: (English) "If you had about three hours I would tell you why I didn't voted for Barak. Why I voted for Sharon? Because he is the lesser of the two evils!" SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop, settler Meanwhile, many Israeli Arabs - an important Barak constituency - said they would boycott the poll, and turnout was light as of Tuesday afternoon. Last time round 90 percent of the Arabs voting chose Barak - so this is a big loss for him. Ironically some of those Arabs who did vote said they had gone for Sharon - rather than opt for Barak's weak leadership. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) "I'm going to express my right to vote today by voting for Sharon who will bring strong government to deliver peace, which the weak government such as Barak's was not able to deliver." SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop, Israeli- Arab voter As the election moved into full swing, events were being closely monitored at the election control headquarters based in the Israeli Parliament building, the Knesset, in Jerusalem. The centre is in direct contact with the country's 7,632 polling stations and monitors voter turnout every two hours. When the polls close at ten p-m local time, an election specialist will examine the data and give an accurate projection of the number of Israelis who have voted nationwide. This special election is the first one in the country's history which does not have any parliamentary seats at stake. At Abu Kabir remand centre in Tel Aviv a polling station was set up in the main jail block. Prisoners, who are all being held prior to trial, lined up to register their vote behind bars. Polls opened at seven a-m on Tuesday (0500 GMT) and close at 10 p-m (2000 GMT), when both major TV stations planned to announce projected results based on exit polls. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...