Sharon wins elections for prime minister

TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 6 -- Sharon wins elections for prime ministerThe Likud's hawkish candidate for prime minister, Ariel Sharon, Tuesday trounced Prime Minister Ehud Barak, according to exit polls.

Sharon had a lead of 19 percent, the biggest in Israel's history, with Channel 1 TV and Channel 2 TV saying Sharon won 59.5 percent of the votes while Barak won only 40.5 percent.

Sharon will now have to form a cabinet and a coalition. He is expected to ask Barak's Labor Party to join a national unity government or else he would have to rely on a narrow based right wing coalition.