Likud Court Bars Knesset Members and Ministers from Running in District Primaries

The Likud party's internal court ruled late Monday night to block current and former Knesset members, ministers, and deputy ministers from running in the party's district primaries. The decision was passed by a 4-1 majority, overturning a narrow party conference vote that had approved allowing these officials to compete in districts by just five votes.

The court cited procedural irregularities during the vote, including delayed implementation of observer deployment at polling stations, discrepancies in voter counts, envelopes, and ballots, and public support by the Likud election manager for the proposal. Given the slim margin, the judges concluded these issues could have affected the outcome.

Additionally, the majority opinion emphasized that permitting sitting lawmakers to run in districts undermines the principle of equality and the districts’ purpose of enabling new candidates to enter the party list. They noted that incumbents have inherent advantages such as public exposure, status, activist networks, and public funding.

As a result, Knesset members and ministers who planned to run in districts will now likely have to compete on the national list, where competition for limited spots is tougher. Conversely, local district candidates will face less competition from established politicians, potentially altering the balance of power and candidate composition in the upcoming 2026 Likud primaries.

This ruling significantly impacts the party’s candidate selection process ahead of the next Knesset elections and may influence the overall makeup of the Likud list.