Jerusalem  - Outgoing Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Sunday that her centrist Kadima faction should be charged with forming the next government, even though it won only one mandate more in last Tuesday's elections than its hawkish rival, the Likud Party.

Final election results, released Thursday night, showed Kadima won 28 mandates in the 120-seat Knesset.

The Likud, under former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, won 27 seats, but the right-wing block, which the Likud leads, won an overall 65 seats, enough to prevent Livni from forming a coalition government.

Both Livni and Netanyahu have claimed victory in the elections.

Under Israeli law, the president does not automatically charge the head of the largest Knesset party with the task of forming the next government, but consults with the factions heads over their recommendations for the post.

Netanyahu is believed to be the choice of a majority of legislators.

"Kadima should be asked to form a government, but there may be other scenarios," the Jerusalem Post daily quoted Livni as telling Kadima legislators in the party's first caucus meeting since the elections.

"We will serve the public in forming the government or in the opposition," Livni added.

"We need to think more than just politically, but what we do with the trust we received from the public. It's a huge responsibility," she said.

Outgoing Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik, a Kadima legislator, said she believed Peres would entrust Livni with forming the new government, once the presidential consultations had bene completed.

"Kadima is the largest faction. I don't see any other option than the president asking us to form a government," she said. dpa