Likud Closes Primaries After 53.5% Turnout as Netanyahu’s 8 Reserved Slots Stoke Tensions
Updated
Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Aug 17
Likud Closes Primaries After 53.5% Turnout as Netanyahu’s 8 Reserved Slots Stoke Tensions
3 articles · Updated · The Jerusalem Post · Aug 17
Summary
76,068 Likud members voted before polls closed Monday night, lifting turnout to 53.5% among roughly 140,000 eligible members ahead of Israel’s October 27 election; results were due later that night.
Netanyahu’s recent expansion of control over the Knesset slate drove the unusually fierce contest, with the prime minister empowered to place eight candidates within the top 30 spots.
More than 100 candidates competed for fewer realistic places because polls project Likud at about 22 seats, far below the roughly 40 ministers and lawmakers now serving under the party banner.
Reserved slots already went to Oren Dobronsky, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Haim Katz, while critics including Tally Gotliv said the changes undercut member control and tainted the process.
The fight has become a test of how democratic Likud’s list-making remains, since members still vote in primaries but Netanyahu now has broader power to shape who can realistically enter the next Knesset.
Will Netanyahu’s aggressive maneuver to reserve eight Knesset slots for himself secure his survival or fracture his party?
Could Likud’s promotion of hardline candidates advocating for Gaza settlements trigger an unprecedented international backlash?
How might the acceleration of West Bank annexations under Likud's new slate reshape the Middle East?
Likud in Turmoil: Netanyahu’s Centralized Slate, Internal Backlash, and the Battle for Knesset Survival in 2026
Overview
Ahead of the August 2026 Likud primaries, the party’s projected Knesset seats dropped sharply, fueling internal tension and a decline in voter turnout. Prime Minister Netanyahu, worried that a fully open primary would boost polarizing candidates and hurt Likud’s appeal to swing voters, secured nine reserved slots on the party slate. This move pushed many democratically elected candidates further down the list, leaving veteran lawmakers at risk of losing their seats. The centralization of power sparked fierce opposition and exposed deep party divides, while also giving Netanyahu bargaining chips for alliances. As both major blocs are projected to fall short of a majority, Israel faces a real risk of prolonged political deadlock.