Prime Minister Netanyahu is advancing a proposal to replace Likud primaries with an arranging committee that would set the party's Knesset list through slot 32, according to journalist Amit Segal. The committee would include mayors and public figures; Netanyahu as party leader would reserve seven slots for his own candidates.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is advancing an internal reform of Likud's candidate selection process, replacing party primaries with an arranging committee, according to journalist Amit Segal. The proposed format would see a committee comprising mayors and public figures set the party's Knesset list through position 32. Netanyahu, as party leader, would hold the power to place seven reserved candidates of his own choosing. The proposal represents a significant centralization of the list-making process, shifting control from the party's general membership to a leadership-appointed body.
The proposal emerged after a day of rapidly evolving reports by The Zioneer. At 20:54 Jerusalem on June 10, the first reports indicated Netanyahu told Likud local council heads he wanted to cancel primaries and establish an arranging committee. Subsequent updates specified the demand for ten reserved slots (version 4), then explicit confirmation of Netanyahu's wish to cancel primaries entirely (version 3), and later the detailed 12 million shekel cost argument and required approval process (version 6). By 20:54, a further refinement indicated the proposal would freeze the existing national list and grant Netanyahu ten slots (version 7). The current draft, reported this morning, reduces the reserved slots to seven.
As The Zioneer reported earlier this morning, an earlier version of the proposal discussed ten rather than seven reserved slots for Netanyahu, indicating ongoing internal negotiations over the balance of power in the list-making process. The reform requires approval by a simple majority in Likud's constitution committee, secretariat, and convention.
It remains unclear whether a unified proposal has been formally submitted for internal party votes, or whether the seven-slot version represents a finalized compromise.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake