The slot reserved for a representative of a “minority” will be moved to number 44 on the Likud’s list for the Knesset, the party announced on Monday night. The party has received approximately 35 seats in recent opinion polls, meaning number 44 will almost certainly not enter the Knesset.
MK Fateen Mulla, who is Druze and currently occupies the Likud’s minority slot, criticized the decision, saying, “Everything the media says about this party is true, [it is a] sh*t party,” Army Radio reported.
Criticism from the inside
A number of Likud MKs and candidates spoke out against the decision, including former Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon and MK Keti Shitrit.
On Monday afternoon, Mulla wrote on Twitter that he was under the impression that the party would reconsider its decision.
Even if the slot changes, it will still probably remain in the 40s, a source in the Likud said.
If the Likud ends up winning 35 seats and some MKs then decide to quit the Knesset as part of the “Norwegian Law” in order to serve only as ministers, the low 40s might eventually become MKs.
וזה כבר המסמך המלא שהרבה ליכודניקים מחכים לו.אם לא יהיו שינויים של הרגע האחרון, כך תראה חלוקת רשימת הליכוד: שיריוני נתניהו מתרחבים, המחוזות ומשבצת המיעוטים נדחקים מעט (החוק הנרווגי אמור לפצות), יצוג נאה לנשים pic.twitter.com/hHYnU0wwIX
— יובל שגב | Yuval Segev (@Segev_Yuval) July 10, 2022
The primaries are scheduled for August 3, the party announced on Sunday night.
The announcement came after prolonged negotiations in the party’s Constitution Committee, which decides on any changes to the slots in the Likud’s list to the Knesset.
The Likud’s Central Committee will meet at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday to approve the decisions.
The Likud’s list consists of a number of different types of candidates: Those chosen in national primaries; representatives of Likud’s 10 regions; a number of slots reserved for “minorities”; and slots reserved for the Likud leader’s personal choices.
Likud chair and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu is currently not being challenged for party leader and will have five picks on his party’s list, three of them in realistic spots.
"Everything the media says about this party is true."
Likud MK Fateen Mulla
The 10 regional seats are usually reserved for candidates who have never served as MKs. However, the committee decided that this time MKs who served in the position for less than six months will be able to run in the regional slots.
The number-one slot goes to the Likud leader. Realistic slots for national candidates who are current or former MKs include slots 2-13, 15, 17-18, 20, 23-24, 27, 30-32 and 35.
Realistic slots for regional candidates who are newcomers are 19, 21-22, 26, 29, 34, 36, 38 and depending on the use of the Norwegian Law, numbers 41-42 might also enter.
Realistic slots reserved for Netanyahu are 14, 16 and 28.
In addition to the 44th “minority” slot, other “special” slots include number 25, which is reserved for a woman who hasn’t served as an MK, 33 for a new immigrant, 40 for someone “young,” and 45 for a haredi.
Danon announced last month that he will compete in the primary. Since he served as an MK in the past, he will run as a national candidate.
There are 27 incumbent MKs (other than Netanyahu, Yuval Steinitz and Ofir Sofer) who will run for 23 realistic seats. Presuming that Danon is chosen relatively high on the list, five current MKs will not continue their service in the Knesset.