Likud Holds Primary for Knesset Candidates List Amid Corruption Allegations, Slow Turnout
The results of the Likud primary are due out Thursday morning. The Labor party held its primary on Tuesday, resulting in a female-majority, younger, and more socialist list. Religious Zionism and Meretz will vote on August 23.
The Likud party held its primary on Wednesday, inviting its 140,000 members to choose its candidates list for the November 1 parliamentary election at 110 polling stations across Israel.
The party is expected to garner over 30 seats in the 120-member Knesset and remain the largest in the country.
Voting hours were extended by 90 minutes to 10:30 pm, as early turnout was low. By 8 pm, 47% of party members had voted, a turnout similar to that of previous primaries. The results are expected to be released early on Thursday.
Likud Chairman Binyamin Netanyahu has posted several videos in recent days encouraging members to turn out, in the hope that a high level of participation will benefit his supporters in the party.
For many of the candidates, it is their first attempt to enter the Knesset. One of these is journalist Boaz Bismuth, former editor-in-chief of the pro-Netanyahu newspaper Israel Hayom and one of Netanyahu’s strongest advocates in recent years.
“I was a media man for a long time, and I loved my job. But eventually, I had to decide whether I wanted to have a small influence [on national affairs] or attempt at having a major one. And now, I decided to try to win a place in the Likud list,” Bismuth told The Media Line.
“I’m trying to be modest because it’s my first time running in a primary and I started quite late. Only after the results are out can I start talking about what I would like to do if I become a member of parliament,” the former editor-in-chief of the Israel Hayom newspaper added.
Bismuth has reasons for optimism: He became known as a speaker for the right wing in Israel during his job on the political panel at Channel 12. He also says he has the support of Netanyahu himself, whom he consistently calls the “former and future prime minister.”
But primaries also open opportunities for people who became well-known for less conventional reasons.
Dudu Laniado has been a Likud activist for over 30 years, and he intended to run in this primary for the first time, too.
Last week, the Likud election committee voted to allow Laniado to run in the primary, despite his conviction for breaking into a home and assaulting a woman in 2010.
On Monday, the Likud internal court decided that he could indeed compete for a spot reserved for a candidate from Tel Aviv.
But on Tuesday, the Tel Aviv District Court overturned that decision, leaving Laniado out of the race.
“Legally speaking, my record is clean, due to statute of limitations. My past is behind me, and I believe it’s up to the voters to decide if I’m worthy to serve as a member of parliament, and it shouldn’t be the court’s mandate,” he told The Media Line
Netanyahu tweeted on Tuesday that party members should not vote for Laniado, as his criminal record might damage the party’s image.
“I’m not going against Netanyahu,” Laniado told The Media Line. “All I hoped for was for the voters to see me suitable to serve. I think this will be the last time I run in the party’s primaries.”
On Tuesday night, Channel 12 broadcasted a report about alleged corruption and fraud in the Likud primary. According to the report, party members offer to collect votes for candidates in exchange for money, thus helping them reach a higher, safer place on the list running for parliament.
Both Laniado and Bismuth denied these allegations completely.
“I was approached by that very same researcher who made the report, a few weeks ago,” said Laniado. “He posed as a new party member and asked me to get him votes for big sums of money. I told him it’s illegal and that anyone in the party who offers him this kind of thing cannot be trusted and is a criminal. These things don’t exist in the Likud. It’s purely the media trying to shame the only party to hold democratic internal elections,” he said.
“I haven’t run into anything like this,” said Bismuth. “I try to get my votes by going all over the country and persuading people. I’ve been to many countries in the world, and I have seen an endless number of political parties. Even if I don’t get elected today, I have no doubt: The Likud has the best, most democratic system. And I’m proud to be part of it.”
On Tuesday, the center-left Labor party elected its list of candidates for parliament. The primary resulted in a younger, more socialist party than before, pushing it further away from dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which used to be the main agenda item for Labor.
Public Security Minister Omer Barlev is now No. 9 on the party list, which, according to polls, is expected to get five to six seats in the November 1 election. Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai, another longtime lawmaker, fell from eighth place to 17th. Younger parliament members, such as Naama Lazimi, got top positions on the list and are expected to enter parliament following national elections. The new list makes the Labor party the only one in Israel with a female majority in its top 10 spots.
Two more Israeli political parties elect their representatives in primaries: The far-right Religious Zionism party will hold its vote on August 23. The left-wing Meretz party is scheduled to hold its primary on the same day, with former chairwoman Zehava Galon returning from retirement and competing for party leadership against Member of Knesset Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yair Golan.
