The leadership election for Israel’s Labour party will take place next week but has so far failed to attract much media attention.

Most observers are assuming that the current leader, Shelly Yachimovich, will win.

The party, currently the third-largest in the Knesset, has failed to show much momentum in the polls in recent months, and this is its quietest-ever election. So far, no news organisation has even commissioned a poll.

The only other candidate, former minister Yitzhak Herzog, has been trying to liven things up a little and last week claimed that Ms Yachimovich was using the party organisation to improve her chances of winning. Mr Herzog’s campaign team said that polling stations in areas where he enjoys heavy support have been cancelled.

Ms Yachimovich’s camp responded that the cancellations were for financial reasons. Yair Fink, the Yachimovich campaign manager, said: “Herzog is simply trying to make excuses since he knows he’s about to lose.”