Tel Aviv  - Parliament Speaker Dalia Itzik won the most votes in primaries to choose the Knesset list for Israel's ruling Kadima party, results released early Thursday showed.

Itzik was followed by veteran legislator Tzahi Hanegbi and Finance Minister Roni Bar-On. They are to occupy the third, fourth and fifth places on the Kadima list, respectively, after the party's leader, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz.

Haim Ramon, a veteran legislator who was found guilty of sexual harassment in January 2007, was pushed down to the 17th spot on the list, the results from Wednesday's voting showed. The decline was a blow to Ramon, a former cabinet minister who has also served as the confidant of several former Israeli prime ministers.

The first 10 spots on the list of the centrist party will be occupied by sitting legislators and cabinet ministers with only three new faces appearing among the first 20 candidates.

The voter turnout was a disappointing 44 per cent of the 80,000 registered Kadima members. Unlike the primaries in the Labour and Likud parties, the computerized voting passed without glitches.

Israel goes to the polls on February 10. According to the latest surveys, Kadima has been losing ground to opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu of the hardline Likud.

The elections in Israel are to be held just more than a year ahead of schedule and follow the resignation of caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in September amid corruption allegations. (dpa)