Jerusalem: Israeli political parties submitted their candidate lists to the Central Elections Committee on Monday as the nation gears up for a critical election season. The event was marked by significant political maneuvers and strategic decisions, notably the choice by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot to rule out a merger with the Together alliance, led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. In a move that surprised many, Ofer Winter opted to run independently with his People of Israel party.
According to Anadolu Agency, the submission of candidate lists comes ahead of the Tuesday deadline for registering candidates. Eisenkot, who previously served as the Israeli army chief of staff, has presented a list comprising 40 candidates for his Yashar party. Current opinion polls suggest that his party could emerge as the largest in the upcoming elections. By opting not to merge with the Together alliance-which includes candidates from Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party-Eisenkot has set the stage for a separate electoral contest. Meanwhile, the Together alliance has also submitted its candidate list to the Central Elections Committee.
While the decisions by the Together and Yashar parties to contest the elections separately were anticipated, Winter's choice to submit an independent list rather than align with the Religious Zionism Party has caught some within Israel's right-wing camp by surprise. Ofer Winter's list submission for the 26th Knesset was reported by Israel's public broadcaster KAN, highlighting his decision to run without any alliances.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the far-right Religious Zionism party, expressed regret over Winter's independent run. Smotrich took to the US social media platform X to voice his concerns, suggesting that Winter's decision could favor political adversaries such as Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and Supreme Court President Isaac Amit. Smotrich labeled Winter's move as 'disappointing' and questioned the credibility of Winter's commitment to supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the premiership.
As of Monday evening, several parties, including Netanyahu's Likud and Smotrich's Religious Zionism parties, as well as the Arab parties, had yet to submit their candidate lists. The general election, set for October 27, promises a close contest between Netanyahu's camp and the opposition. Opinion polls predict that neither camp will secure enough seats to form a government independently, as a minimum of 61 out of 120 Knesset members is required for government formation.
KAN reported a poll indicating Netanyahu's camp could win 52 seats, while Eisenkot's camp might secure 51 seats, a slight decline from a previous poll. The Hendel-Zelekha alliance could potentially add four seats to Netanyahu's count, bringing it to 56-still short of the required majority. Eisenkot's bloc, projected to reach 55 seats, would need support from the Joint List, an alliance of Arab-majority political parties, to surpass the 61-seat threshold. However, the poll highlighted that most leaders of Jewish opposition parties remain unwilling to accept support from Arab Knesset members for government formation.