Likud MK David Bitan filed a petition Sunday morning to the party tribunal seeking to stop the creation of a "designated committee" and preserve primaries for choosing the party’s Knesset slate. No hearing date has been set. The petition, submitted by attorney Yifat Meirovitz-Yefet, calls the move a "constitutional coup" and argues that changing the selection method only about a month before the scheduled vote is an improper attempt to rewrite the rules midstream.
Bitan says the plan violates the rights of tens of thousands of Likud members, contradicts the party’s constitution, and conflicts with previous tribunal rulings. He asked for an interim injunction against any effort to cancel the primaries or establish a committee, for any constitutional change to apply only to future elections, and for any vote at a Likud convention on such a change to be secret. He also cited the party’s internal auditor, attorney Shay Galili, who reportedly wrote in a draft opinion that the move is unlawful in its current form.
In remarks after filing the petition, Bitan said, "It is forbidden to deprive the members of their democratic right to choose their representatives," and added, "Likud was and will remain a democratic movement." He argued that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants a committee because he likes the idea of personally shaping the list, but insisted Likud’s system is what brought Netanyahu into the party and eventually to the premiership. Bitan also warned that if a committee is created, Likud could, over time, suffer the fate of the Labor Party.
Bitan said the dispute over reserved spots on the list is secondary and that there is no objection to some reservations, only to their number and placement. He said Netanyahu wants 10 reserved spots, which he compared to a committee system, and noted that Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, and Ariel Sharon did not have such reservations and still won many seats. Separately, Netivot Mayor Yechiel Zohar, seen as influential in the party, also opposed canceling primaries, saying they are the "beating heart" of Likud and the only mechanism that ensures proper representation for districts, women, peripheral communities, and other sectors. He said he supports limited reserved spots, but only as an addition to primaries, not a replacement.
