Likud Director-General Sharan said at the party's Holon headquarters that the party is checking results and that primaries and reserved slots are in place, declaring 'Likud won, the PM won.' Party Legal Adviser Bombach noted that a five-vote margin on proposal #2 demonstrates that every vote counts, according to party officials.
The Likud Central Committee approved all three proposals submitted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister Haim Katz in a Monday evening vote, capping a months-long internal party struggle over the slate-selection process.
The voting process began at 15:56 Jerusalem with over 40% turnout, and by 19:53 turnout reached 70% with 3,264 votes cast, as the party's Shiromi mechanism appeared to pass. Voting closed at 20:04 with 73% participation—approximately 4,000 votes—which party officials described as unusually high.
Proposal 1, on the party's election rules and method, passed 68-52. Proposal 3, granting Netanyahu 8 reserved slots on the Likud list, passed 68-51. The most contentious item, Proposal 2—allowing sitting MKs, ministers, and deputy ministers to run in districts—passed by a narrow margin of 60-59, a difference of 6 votes according to early counts, later refined to 5 votes.
Netanyahu's reserved slots, which apply up to the 30th place on the list, represent a significant expansion of his control over the party slate. The approval of Proposal 2 was seen as a victory for Katz, who had championed the change.
Party Director-General Sharan, speaking from the Likud campaign headquarters in Holon, declared "total victory," saying "Likud won, the PM won." Party Legal Adviser Bombach noted that the 5-vote margin on Proposal 2 demonstrates that "every vote counts" and that participation matters.
As The Zioneer reported at 23:27, the Central Committee's approval marked the culmination of the internal process. The final results are expected to face legal challenges, with some party figures signaling they may petition the party's internal court.
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