Tel Aviv - Tzipi Livni, winner of the leadership contest in Israel's ruling Kadima party, said Thursday morning she will work to set up a governing coalition as soon as possible, to ensure stability.

"We have to deal with threats which are not simple," she told supporters at sunrise, shortly after she was declared winner of the bitterly-contested leadership primary.

Livni, currently Israel's foreign minister, called on Kadima to close ranks, saying the responsibility she now held was not just hers alone, but that of everyone.

Livni will replace discredited Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of Kadima, and, if she succeeds in establishing a coalition, as prime minister as well. Olmert announced in July he was quitting because of investigations against him for alleged corruption.

Results of the primary, announced shortly before dawn after a night of vote-counting drama, gave Livni 43.1 per cent, compared to 42 per cent for her main challenger, Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz. (dpa)