JERUSALEM, Jan. 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's newly-founded Kadima party chose interim Prime Minister and Sharon's close ally Ehud Olmert as its acting chairman on Monday to head it in the coming March 28 elections, according to a statement.

    The decision to name Olmert to stand in for Sharon in the upcoming ballot had been made due to the prime minister's medical condition, said the statement issued by Kadima.

    Sharon has remained in critical but stable condition since he suffered from a significant stroke on Jan. 4. The 77-year-old ex-general has not regained consciousness yet following the halt of sedatives last week.

    Having been granted as acting prime minister, Olmert has now got control of the centrist Kadima.

    Olmert is scheduled to convene a party meeting later on Monday to discuss possible nominees to replace four ministers of the center-right Likud party who resigned last week.

    Olmert is expected to retain the Finance and the Trade and Industry portfolios and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni is expected to keep the Immigrant Absorption post and also assume the duties of foreign minister in place of Silvan Shalom, Israel Army Radio reported.

    The absence of Sharon from office is widely seen as putting much uncertainty to the Israeli general elections, but polls have shown that Kadima will defeat Likud and the center-left Labor party in the March general elections even without Sharon.

   Sharon left Likud, a party he helped found decades ago, in November and established his own Kadima, vowing to end the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

    Olmert, 60, has been a long-time close ally with Sharon. He has been among the first patch to leave Likud and join Sharon's Kadima.  Enditem