Likud Begins Manual Vote Counting at Bloomfield Stadium After Intense Primary Battles

Following a day marked by intense conflicts and high emotions, the Likud party has commenced the manual counting of votes at Bloomfield Stadium in Jaffa, where the party's operations center has been established. The results from 503 polling stations across 107 locations are being processed, with tens of thousands of ballots examined by local committees before being forwarded to the central control center. The party expects final results to be announced by morning and anticipates surprises in the candidate list. According to the party, voter turnout reached 53.5%, totaling 75,177 voters, which was lower than senior officials had hoped for in what was seen as a critical and fiercely contested primary due to the limited number of available seats.

Several Members of Knesset and ministers appeared throughout the day, engaged in what seemed like battles for their political survival. For example, MK David Bitan operated his own command center after voting in Rishon Lezion and compiled recommended candidate lists, sometimes opposing those backed by Prime Minister Netanyahu. Bitan also faced efforts to remove him from pre-agreed lists, leading to loud disputes during the day. A major question mark surrounds Tali Gottlieb, whose influence caused concern among Netanyahu's office and senior ministers, who sought to moderate her power.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev fought hard to maintain her position as the leading woman on the list, spending many hours at the largest polling station in Jerusalem's Binyanei HaUma, engaging with dozens of party members to secure her place. The battle was particularly tough for candidates in the party's back benches, where chances of making the list are slim given the dominance of incumbent ministers.

The Likud ministers conducted extensive fieldwork, traveling thousands of kilometers to polling stations from north to south, demonstrating presence and engaging activists, especially in areas with high voter turnout. Despite initial plans to hold electronic voting, concerns about foreign cyber interference led the party to revert to the traditional manual voting method. This decision was also seen as a way for Prime Minister Netanyahu to maintain tighter control over the candidate selection process, as manual counting favors established party officials.

Polling stations closed at 9:00 PM, with the party noting a 53.5% turnout, reflecting a roughly 10% increase compared to the same voting hours in the previous primaries. In the 2022 primaries, voting was extended until 10:00 PM, ending with a 58% turnout and 79,750 voters.