Six of top 20: Likud okays plan to give Netanyahu more power over party’s electoral slate

In compromise with Likud Constitution Committee, PM to handpick candidates for slots 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 18, 26, and 31; party expected to win some 20-25 seats in October elections

By Charlie Summers

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Likud’s Constitution Committee on Monday approved a plan to grant Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the power to select eight candidates on the party’s slate, including three in the top 10 and six in the top 20, in a compromise with committee chairman Haim Katz, among the premier’s efforts to increase his own influence over the upcoming party primaries.

The compromise would reserve spots 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 18, 26, and 31 on the party’s Knesset list for Netanyahu’s handpicked candidates, after the premier previously insisted that at least 10 spots be reserved for contenders of his choice.

The deal significantly increased Netanyahu’s power over the Likud slate. During the party’s last round of primaries in 2022, Netanyahu was allowed to handpick only three candidates among the first 30 spots on the list, with the highest being the 14th.

Polls have projected that Likud’s number of seats after the elections, on October 27, will be in the low to mid-20s, out of the Knesset’s total 120.

The compromise is not yet official and the Likud Central Committee will vote on whether to approve the plan Thursday, Hebrew outlets reported.

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The primaries, scheduled for August 17, have sparked friction within the party as veteran lawmaker David Bitan pushed back against Netanyahu’s bid for greater influence.

Bitan, one of the only Likud politicians who has publicly opposed Netanyahu’s demands, got into a brief spat with the premier on Monday in Jerusalem.

“We’re talking about reserved [slots], but everything is hazy. We haven’t seen who they want to reserve a spot for and what value they bring to Likud,” Bitan said, according to Ynet.

“Bitan, you’re welcome to run and we’ll see how many seats you bring,” Netanyahu reportedly shot back.

Last month, the premier threatened to scrap the primaries and instead hold an internal selection committee choose the party’s slate if he was not granted the power to choose 10 candidates within the first 35 spots, but then recanted amid opposition from senior party members.

Likud is one of the only major parties, and the largest, to hold primaries for its slate.

On Sunday, the Knesset legal adviser announced the parliament will dissolve on July 17, and that elections will be held on October 27, the latest date permitted by law.

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