Israeli political parties have begun submitting their candidate lists to the Knesset Central Elections Committee ahead of the general election planned for October 27. Submissions will close on Tuesday, and all parties must submit their lists by that date.
Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, submitted a list of 40 candidates for Yishar, which is expected to be the leading party in opinion polls. The move confirmed that Eisenkot will enter the election without forming an alliance with Together, led by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.
Together also submitted its list to the Central Elections Committee in the Knesset. The list includes candidates from There Is a Future, led by opposition leader Yair Lapid.
Vinter runs separately from the right-wing bloc
While Yishar and Together were expected to enter the election with separate lists, Ofer Vinter’s submission of an independent list apart from the right-wing Religious Zionism party was viewed as a surprise. Vinter submitted the list of the Israel’s People party for the 26th Knesset without forming an alliance.
Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party and finance minister, said he was saddened by Vinter’s decision to run independently. Smotrich argued that the decision would benefit only the government’s legal adviser, Gali Baharav-Miara, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit and their left-wing allies.
Describing Vinter’s rejection of his proposals to establish unity within the right-wing bloc as disappointing, Smotrich said the stance undermined Vinter’s pledge to bring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the head of the government and remain in the same bloc.
A coalition needs 61 seats
As of Monday evening, Likud, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Religious Zionism and some political formations, including Arab parties, had not yet submitted their candidate lists. The election will take place amid a close contest between Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition bloc.
Opinion polls show that neither bloc can reach a majority to form a government on its own. In the 120-seat Knesset, at least 61 lawmakers are needed to form a government.
A poll released on Sunday evening projected 52 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc and 51 for Eisenkot’s bloc. Eisenkot’s bloc had been projected to win 55 seats in the previous poll.
When the four seats won by the Hendel-Zeliha alliance are added to Netanyahu’s bloc, it reaches 56 seats. The bloc therefore needs five more seats for a majority. Eisenkot’s bloc rises to 55 seats but needs the support of the United Arab List to form a government.
The same poll projected that Arab lawmakers would win 13 seats. Most leaders of the opposition’s Jewish parties do not accept the support of Arab lawmakers to form a government.
