Ahmad Tibi Freezes Joint List Talks Over Candidate Ranking Dispute

Negotiations to form a joint electoral list between Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad parties hit a deadlock on Sunday evening. While Hadash and Balad welcomed a proposal from a reconciliation committee designed to facilitate the list's formation, Ta'al, led by Ahmad Tibi, rejected the plan and announced a halt to talks. Tibi confirmed these details in a conversation with ynet.

The main disagreement centers on Ta'al's candidate placement within the list. Although Tibi was assigned the second spot, the other Ta'al representative was placed ninth, rather than the sixth or seventh position Ta'al demanded. Hadash, headed by Dr. Yousef Jabareen, praised the reconciliation committee's decision and urged Tibi to reconsider, emphasizing the urgency to unite and strengthen Arab representation against the Netanyahu government ahead of upcoming elections.

Balad also accepted the committee's framework, viewing the tripartite joint list as a significant political and electoral achievement. They noted that the negotiation phase was over and called for an immediate meeting of the three parties' leadership to officially announce the list and begin organizing campaign operations. Balad stressed that success would be measured not only by the list's composition but also by its ability to restore trust in the Arab community and increase voter turnout.

The reconciliation committee, composed of public figures and lawyers and chaired by author Muhammad Ali Taha, was established to bridge gaps between the parties after their separate runs in the last elections led to a substantial loss of votes. The proposed candidate order places Jabareen first (Hadash), Tibi second (Ta'al), Sami Abu Shahada third (Balad), followed by a mix of candidates from the three parties. The future depends on whether Ta'al will compromise or if the dispute over candidate rankings will cause another split that could influence the election outcome.