Israeli Parties Forge Alliances to Capture Surplus Votes Before Election

As Israel approaches its Knesset elections on October 27, political parties are actively forming agreements to redistribute leftover votes, a practice known as "eschem-odafim" or surplus vote distribution. This legal mechanism aims to prevent votes from being wasted by allocating them to a partner party, thereby potentially securing an additional seat in the Knesset. The process involves complex calculations where remaining votes beyond those needed for a party's allocated seats are pooled with a partner party's surplus. The combined surplus, if large enough, can translate into an extra mandate for one of the allied parties, determined by a formula considering the size of each party's surplus and their total seats.

While designed to maximize representation, the surplus vote distribution system sparks public debate, as some voters object to their ballots indirectly supporting a different party, even one with ideological alignment. Parties typically seek partners with similar political leanings to ensure their surplus votes do not benefit perceived rivals. Parties hovering near the electoral threshold are generally avoided as partners, as their votes might not contribute effectively to securing an additional mandate.

Two such alliances have already been announced. The Yisrael Beiteinu party has agreed to a surplus vote distribution deal with the "Yesh Atid-New Hope" bloc, led by Yair Lapid and Gideon Sa'ar. Additionally, Gadi Eisenkot's "The National Unity Party" has entered a similar agreement with the "Democrats," a merger of the Labor and Meretz parties, led by Yair Golan. These pacts mean that votes cast for Yisrael Beiteinu could indirectly benefit Lapid's bloc, and votes for Eisenkot's party could bolster the Democrats, and vice versa.