Exit polls released on Tuesday night showed that the centrist Kadima party led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won the most votes in Israel's general election.

Israeli Foreign Minister and leader of the Kadima party Tzipi Livni casts her vote at a polling station in Tel Aviv, Feb. 10, 2009. Israel started a day-long general election on Tuesday morning to choose its next parliament and premiership. [Xinhua Photo]

According to the percentage of votes each party garnered in the 15-hour-long election, Kadima won 30 seats in the 120-member parliament, while its main rival, the right-wing Likud party, got 28, showed a survey by Israeli TV Channel 10.

The poll also found that the ultranationalist Israel Beiteinu party and the center-left Labor party respectively gained 15 and 13 seats, and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party gathered 9 seats.

Another survey conducted by Channel 2 also put Kadima in the first place with 29 seats, Likud the second with 27, followed by Israel Beiteinu, Labor and Shas respectively with 15, 13 and 10 seats.

In the same order, the Channel 1 polls put the figures at 30, 28, 14, 13 and 9.

Final results are expected before dawn Wednesday, and Israel's Central Elections Committee is scheduled to publish the official results on Feb. 18.