backed Primary Reform After Finding Voting Irregularities
An internal Likud party tribunal has invalidated recent reforms pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding candidate selection. The court ruled that procedural flaws and voting irregularities undermined the integrity of the decision.
Why it matters
The ruling represents a significant political setback for Netanyahu's efforts to consolidate control over his party's electoral slate.
In a major setback for Prime Minister Netanyahu's efforts to reshape Likud's candidate selection process, the party's internal tribunal has struck down one of the most controversial reforms approved at last week's Likud conference, ruling that voting irregularities and procedural flaws invalidated the measure.
After a marathon deliberation lasting nearly 10 hours and concluding in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Likud tribunal overwhelmingly accepted petitions challenging the conference vote.
The five-member judicial panel, headed by tribunal president Attorney Michael Kleiner, ruled that incumbent ministers, deputy ministers, current Knesset members, and former lawmakers will not be permitted to compete for seats reserved for regional (district) representatives in the party's primaries. Those positions will remain exclusively designated for new candidates.
The decision represents a significant blow to Netanyahu's broader initiative to increase his influence over Likud's electoral slate ahead of the next parliamentary election.
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