Likud's Constitution Committee to Reconsider Netanyahu's Primary and Slotting Proposal After Legal Dispute
The Likud Constitution Committee is set to reconvene on Sunday at 4:00 PM in Petah Tikva to reexamine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal to change the party's primary election system and reserved slots on the party list for the 26th Knesset. This meeting follows a directive from the Likud party court to conduct a renewed review after a legal controversy halted the approval process.
The agenda includes revisiting Netanyahu's proposal, considering new and existing suggestions, approving the updated primary election regulations, and conducting votes. The session comes after a last-minute cancellation of a vote by approximately 4,500 Likud Central Committee members, which was stopped by a Lod District Court injunction following a petition demanding a vote on an alternative proposal.
Amid the dispute over the slotting plan, Likud-affiliated local leaders have been summoned to an emergency meeting on Sunday at noon in the Hevel Modi'in Regional Council. The invitation emphasized the urgency due to recent party events that could risk losing political power, restricting attendance to local leaders only, excluding aides and media.
Under the approved slotting framework, Netanyahu would receive eight reserved slots on the Likud list, including three in the top ten and three more in the second ten. Likud officials claim that legal delays disrupted the voting process, preventing many Central Committee members from exercising their voting rights, prompting Netanyahu to cancel the vote and set a new date.
Opposition to the slotting plan is led by Knesset Economics Committee Chair David Bitan, who argues that the reserved slots are harming the party's poll standings and could lead to electoral losses. Likud also accuses the petitioners of exploiting a clerical error in the committee's minutes to mislead the court, causing the vote suspension when polling stations were ready, resulting in significant financial damage to the party. Likud is considering legal action against the petitioners.
