Likud’s largest internal vote in a decade set to reshape party power structure
Wednesday’s vote is expected to serve as an important bellwether for the fortunes of competing factions and the future ambitions of senior party figures
Likud is gearing up for one of its largest internal election days in more than a decade, with roughly 140,000 party members expected to cast ballots on Wednesday at 85 polling stations nationwide.
The vote marks the party’s most significant internal shake-up since 2012 and is set to reshape the internal power map and renew key leadership institutions.
Polling stations will operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., though smaller branches will close two hours earlier. By the end of the day, some 3,500 members of the Likud Central Committee will have been chosen, alongside 500 to 1,000 additional members who gain automatic entry due to their positions in the party.
Activists will also select local branch councils and approve approximately 1,500 new additions to the Central Committee.
Jerusalem, home to the party’s largest branch with nearly 7,000 registered members, is drawing particular attention. MK Amit Halevi is facing a challenge from a joint slate backed by Ministers Dudi Amsalem and Nir Barkat, two of Likud’s most prominent power brokers.
Once the ballots are counted, Likud will convene a full party convention to confirm the newly elected Central Committee.
That will be followed by separate elections for the Committee’s chair, the secretariat chair, and the makeup of the secretariat itself.
The Central Committee holds considerable influence over the party’s direction: it sets internal policy, monitors disciplinary mechanisms, approves regulations, and plays a key role in shaping Likud’s Knesset candidate list. As a result, Wednesday’s vote is expected to serve as an important bellwether for the fortunes of competing factions and the future ambitions of senior party figures.