Israeli PM's party set for Sept. leadership vote

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's centrist Kadima party has voted to change its charter to pave the way for a September primary that could replace him, the party said on Tuesday.

The decision was won by a narrow vote Monday night, with just 91 of the 180 members of the party's central committee supporting the motion.

The exact date of the September primary has not yet been fixed, but candidates were expected to formally announce their decision to run in the middle of August.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is the frontrunner to replace Olmert, who has been dogged by six corruption investigations since he took power in 2006 and faces mounting calls to step down.

Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, and Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz are also expected to compete, and Olmert himself has not ruled out running despite his soaring unpopularity in recent polls.

The decision to hold a primary was taken in June in a last-minute bid to save Olmert's fragile coalition after the Labor party, a crucial coalition partner, threatened to support a bill to dissolve parliament.

Kadima, founded hastily by then prime minister Ariel Sharon before March 2006 parliamentary polls, did not previously have an internal mechanism for ousting a leader or holding leadership elections.