Israeli parties submit candidate lists before registration deadline
In Israel, political parties submitted candidate lists to the Central Elections Committee ahead of the registration deadline set for Tuesday. The leader of the Yashar party, former Israeli army chief of the General Staff Gadi Eisenkot, submitted a list of 40 candidates. He confirmed that his political force would participate in the elections separately from the Together alliance.
The Together alliance is led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and also includes candidates from Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party. The alliance also officially submitted its list to the Central Elections Committee. According to polls, Yashar could become the largest party in the upcoming elections.
Winter’s independent candidacy
Ofer Winter submitted the list of his People of Israel party for the elections to the 26th Knesset without an alliance with other political forces. According to Anadolu Agency, the decision came as a surprise to the right-wing political camp.
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Finance Minister and head of the far-right Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich said he regretted Winter’s decision to run independently. He called it disappointing and said the move calls into question Winter’s promise to support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the post of head of government and to act exclusively within the national camp.
Balance of power ahead of the vote
As of Monday evening, Netanyahu’s Likud party, Smotrich’s Religious Zionism and the Arab parties had not yet submitted their lists. The general election is scheduled for October 27. Forming a government requires the support of at least 61 of the 120 Knesset members.
According to a poll reported by Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Netanyahu’s camp could win 52 seats, while Eisenkot’s camp could receive 51. Taking into account the four seats projected for the Hendel–Zelekha alliance, Netanyahu’s camp could have 56 seats, five short of the required majority. KAN estimates that Eisenkot’s bloc could win 55 seats and would need the support of the Joint List of Arab parties to cross the 61-seat threshold.
