Related report: Hamas forming Palestinian govt

    JERUSALEM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Israel's centrist Kadima party still leads in public polls with 34 to 36 seats as the country is heading to its general elections on March 28, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

Ehud Olmert, interim Israeli Prime Minister and leader of the Kadima party, talks during a presentation of the biography book of former Israeli Premier Shimon Peres in Tel Aviv March 21, 2006. [Xinhua/Reuters]

    With less than a week before the elections, latest polls indicate that Kadima, with a projected 34 to 36 seats, is well ahead of its two major rivals, the center-left Labor with 17 to 21 seats and the center-right Likud with only 14 seats in the 120-member Knesset (Parliament).

    A poll conducted by Israel's Ha'artez newspaper showed that Kadima will command a projected 36 Knesset seats, while Labor and Likud only get 17 and 14 seats respectively.

    Another poll made by Jerusalem Post shows that Kadima will get 34-35 seats, Labor, 20-21 seats, while Likud just 14.

    However, the expected voter turnout remains low with only 65 percent saying they would definitely go to vote on the election day next Tuesday, said the Ha'aretz poll.

    The Ha'aretz poll suggests that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who heads the Kadima in the elections, will not have to sacrifice too many government guidelines or senior portfolios when forming a coalition after the elections.

    The Ha'aretz poll was held by the newspaper along with Channel 10 among a sample of 600 people on Tuesday with an error margin of 4 percent. Enditem