TEL AVIV, Nov 28: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was re-elected leader of the right-wing Likud party on Thursday, beating Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a margin of at least 17 percentage points, according to separate television exit polls.

Sharon took a whopping 61 percent of the vote, while Netanyahu managed 37 percent, said an exit poll carried out by Israeli public television.

Another poll, carried out by the second channel, credited the prime minister with 58 percent against Netanyahu’s 40.5 percent.

Prime Minister Sharon’s crushing victory paves the way for his re-election as prime minister after Jan 28 legislative elections.—AFP