Abe Seen Winning Another LDP Presidential Term in Thurs. Poll

September 19, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party will hold a leadership election on Thursday, with current President Shinzo Abe seen on course to win a third consecutive term as LDP chief.

Abe, 63, the prime minister, is believed to have secured nearly 350 of the 405 votes from LDP lawmakers, against around 50 votes for former Secretary-General Shigeru Ishiba, 61, informed sources have said.

The duel between Abe and Ishiba is the first contest for the LDP leadership in six years. In the previous 2015 election, Abe won the second straight term without contest.

The two candidates will vie for a total of 810 votes--the 405 votes from LDP lawmakers and the same number of regional ballots from other party members and supporters, who vote until Wednesday.

If Abe wins a third consecutive three-year term, he could become the longest-serving prime minister in Japan in November 2019.

"I'll make the utmost effort until the end," Abe told reporters in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, Wednesday morning after attending a meeting with LDP members.

Ishiba told reporters in Tokyo that he will ask for support wholeheartedly to the last. Jiji Press