Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said Wednesday that the prime minister would have “no reason to delay the matter” of a national ballot from a scheduled November 2006 to March should new Labor Party leader Amir Peretz demands it. Shalom’s comments came while the foreign minister was in Tunisia. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon meanwhile hold a secure lead over his main rival in the Likud chairmanship race, Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a poll. Sources also have said that Sharon is leaning toward staying in the Likud rather than bolt to found his own party. Peretz, who ousted Shimon Peres as Labor's leader in a Nov. 9 party ballot, has vowed to quit Sharon's coalition and says he will seek the prime minister's agreement on an election date in talks on Thursday.