The Likud party convention opens polls at 12:00 Thursday to vote on the proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and MK Haim Katz granting the party leader eight reserved slots on the party list, according to N12's Daphna Liel. A competing proposal by MK David Bitan offering only three slots was not brought to a vote. Bitan said he will work to rally opposition to defeat the proposal.
The Likud party convention opened polls at 12:00 Thursday to vote on the Netanyahu-Katz proposal granting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu eight reserved slots on the party list. MK David Bitan, whose own proposal for three slots was excluded from the ballot, said he would work to rally opposition and defeat the proposal. The vote marks the latest stage in a protracted internal struggle over the Likud list ahead of the next Knesset elections.
As The Zioneer first reported on Wednesday (July 15) at 16:17 Jerusalem, the convention was set to vote on three proposals: Netanyahu's reserved-slots plan, an MK Haim Katz proposal on district runs, and a possible constitution text. Likud director David Sharan was accused by party sources of wording the Katz proposal and of being responsible for damage to Netanyahu and the Likud campaign if it failed. In subsequent updates that same day, The Zioneer reported that the ballot would include two proposals — Netanyahu's plan and Katz's reservation — with voting scheduled for 12:00–20:00 at 17 branches. The final version of the thread noted that the central issue was the Netanyahu-Katz eight-slot proposal, and that Bitan's competing three-slot proposal was not brought to a vote.
The dispute over reserved slots has been brewing for weeks. As The Zioneer reported on June 22, senior party figures initially preferred an 'arranging committee' over granting Netanyahu unprecedented control. On June 23, Netanyahu threatened to quit the party unless granted 10 reserved slots. A compromise proposal, reported on July 1, would have reserved slots up to position 25 for loyalists. On July 12, Bitan formally proposed limiting Netanyahu to three slots. And on July 14, MK Avichai Buaron stated that the prime minister would receive eight slots.
What remains open: The outcome of the convention vote is not yet known. Bitan's campaign to rally opposition could still sway delegates, and the convention is also voting on Katz's district-run proposal, which faces significant opposition from activists.
5 developments
- StrongLikud Constitution Committee to convene Thursday without Netanyahu, then with him, following Bitan petition
- StrongNetanyahu, Katz nearing agreement on Likud reserved slots ahead of primaries
- StrongLikud meeting: Katz insists only female MKs for districts, Netanyahu considers male MKs
- StrongLikud convention reportedly postponed to Thursday, primaries to mid-August
Source and signal
- Internal intake