Primaries boost Likud, but Netanyahu's bloc remains short of majority

Following the intense primaries in Likud and the finalization of the party list, the first indicators of the political impact have emerged. A mandate poll conducted by the "Direct Polls" institute for i24NEWS, published on Tuesday, shows Likud strengthening to 31 mandates, up from 30 last week.

Other parties also saw gains: Gadi Eisenkot's Yeshar! party rose from 23 to 24 mandates, the Democrats moved from 10 to 11, and Naftali Bennett's Beyahad party increased from 8 to 9. Conversely, United Torah Judaism and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu each lost a mandate, falling to 8. Shas remains steady at 8, while Otzma Yehudit dropped to 6.

Ra'am, Religious Zionism, and Hadash-Ta'al each hold 5 mandates. Parties falling below the electoral threshold include Zehut, Balad, the Economic Party, and Beit Tzioni.

In terms of bloc distribution, the coalition reaches 58 mandates, the opposition holds 52, and the Arab parties combined account for 10 mandates.

The Likud vote count concluded with a 53.6% turnout, with 76,111 out of 142,051 eligible voters participating.

"Prime Minister and Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu is very pleased with the results of the primaries and congratulates those elected to the list. The new Likud list reflects renewal and the integration of new forces. Together with the reserved candidates that the Prime Minister will appoint, the Likud team led by Netanyahu will lead to a great victory and the establishment of a broad national government. This is the only way to prevent a left-wing government of Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Lieberman, and the Arab parties," the party stated.

Eli Cohen emerged as the primary winner with 46,182 votes. Amir Ohana secured second place with 42,923 votes, followed by Yariv Levin with 41,470. Miri Regev placed fourth with 38,018 votes, maintaining her position as the top-ranked woman. Ofir Katz, Yoav Kisch, and Miki Zohar also secured strong results.