Israeli Election Committee Approves 38 Candidate Lists and Ballot Letters

The Central Elections Committee has approved 38 candidate lists and their corresponding ballot letters for the upcoming elections, 19 days after the submission deadline. The committee, chaired by Justice Noam Sohlberg, finalized the list of parties and their designated letters, marking a significant step as the election campaign enters its final month.

Key parties retained their traditional ballot letters, including Likud ('Mem-Heh-Lamed'), Shas ('Shin-Samekh'), and United Torah Judaism ('Gimel'). New assignments include 'Rak' for Naftali Bennett's party, 'Derech' for Gadi Eisenkot's 'Yisrael' party, and 'Bet' for Otzma Yehudit. Other assignments include 'Emet' for Democrats, 'Ken' for Blue and White, and 'Tet' for the Religious Zionism and Identity parties.

In the Arab sector, the Ra'am and Joint List parties received conditional approval, pending a Supreme Court decision. The committee also disqualified the Joint List from participating in the elections and rejected two of its candidates, Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh and MK Ofer Cassif.

Among the newly approved parties are 'Amcha Yisrael' led by Ofer Winter, assigned the letter 'Khet-Lamed', 'Noam Le'Yisrael' led by Avi Maoz with 'Nun-Yud', and 'Yisrael Tichila' led by Sharan Haskel with 'Yud'. The committee also denied the 'Gan Eden' list's initial request for the letters 'Heh-Yud', citing potential offense to public sentiment, and instead approved their second choice, 'Heh'.

With the official approval of all 38 lists and their ballot letters, parties can now fully launch their campaigns, and voters will soon encounter the final ballot designs at polling stations.