Israeli Parties Forge Surplus Vote Pacts Ahead of Elections

As the deadline for submitting electoral lists approaches, Israeli political parties are finalizing surplus vote agreements to maximize their seat count in the upcoming elections. These pacts allow parties to pool leftover votes that exceed the threshold needed for a Knesset seat, potentially securing additional mandates.

Under the surplus vote system, if two parties that have signed an agreement together cross the electoral threshold and have enough combined leftover votes to secure an additional seat, that seat is awarded to the party with the larger remainder or as determined by the Bader-Ofer calculation. The agreement is only valid if both signatory parties individually pass the electoral threshold; otherwise, the agreement is void and the votes are lost.

Several agreements have already been signed or are expected. Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman's parties have a surplus vote deal. Gadi Eisenkot and Yair Golan have also signed an agreement. In the right-wing and religious bloc, Likud and Religious Zionism have a pact, while Itamar Ben-Gvir is expected to sign with Ofir Winter, and Shas with United Torah Judaism.

In a third bloc, Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelicha, running on a joint list, are in talks for a potential surplus vote agreement with Benny Gantz's party. Among Arab parties, the Hadash-Ta'al list is expected to sign a surplus vote agreement with the Ra'am party.