Likud tribunal overturns key Netanyahu-backed primary reform after finding voting irregularities

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.

In its ruling, the tribunal found that the conference vote suffered from procedural defects and irregularities that undermined confidence in the result. Judges noted that the disputed proposal was approved by an exceptionally narrow margin, making the integrity of the vote particularly critical.

"The flaws identified in the voting process do not allow the decision to stand," the panel concluded, adding that permitting incumbent lawmakers to compete for district seats would violate the principle of equality by disadvantaging new candidates seeking to enter national politics through the regional slots.

The ruling follows an investigation launched by the tribunal into allegations of voting misconduct during the Central Committee ballot that approved several reforms championed by Netanyahu and Likud Central Committee Chairman Haim Katz.

Among the broader package of reforms endorsed by delegates was a proposal granting the prime minister authority to directly appoint candidates to eight reserved positions on the party's electoral list, alongside changes to the party's primary election rules designed to strengthen the leadership's role in shaping the slate.

Questions surrounding the legitimacy of the vote emerged after the tribunal discovered that Netanyahu's name appeared on the official voter list despite the prime minister not casting a ballot.

According to party officials, the discrepancy raised concerns about the accuracy of the vote count and prompted the tribunal to examine whether the irregularities affected the outcome.

The district-seat proposal had initially been reported as passing by five votes. However, a review of the official tally later indicated that the actual margin may have been even narrower, intensifying scrutiny over the result.

Multiple appeals filed with the tribunal alleged fraud, vote-counting errors and procedural violations. Petitioners claimed that observers were removed from some polling stations and that election officials were instructed not to record objections in the official protocols.

Likud MK David Bitan was among the lawmakers challenging the outcome, alleging that ballots opposing the Netanyahu-Katz proposals were improperly invalidated while some ballots supporting the reforms were counted despite being defective.

By invalidating the district-seat reform, the tribunal has handed Netanyahu his first significant institutional defeat following the conference, while reinforcing protections for the party's long-standing system that reserves regional positions for political newcomers.