Energy Minister Eli Cohen emerged as the decisive winner of the Likud primaries, capturing first place as the final count reshaped the party’s prospective Knesset slate and left several veteran ministers and lawmakers facing the possibility of losing their seats.
Cohen finished more than 3,000 votes ahead of Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, who secured second place. Justice Minister Yariv Levin took third, followed by Transportation Minister Miri Regev in fourth and Coalition Chairman MK Ofir Katz in fifth.
Education Minister Yoav Kisch placed sixth, with Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar immediately behind him. Deputy Minister Almog Cohen, making his first run in a Likud primary after departing Otzma Yehudit, made a strong debut in eighth place. Ministers Amichai Chikli and Dudi Amsalem rounded out the top 10.
MK Moshe Saada captured the 11th position, while MK Tally Gotliv landed in 12th — a significantly weaker showing than projections that had suggested she could finish among the leading candidates.
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi made a late move past MK David Bitan to claim 13th place, pushing Bitan to 14th. Boaz Bismuth finished 15th, followed by Ministers Nir Barkat, Ze’ev Elkin and Gila Gamliel. Gamliel edged out Eti Hava Atia to secure the third position designated for a woman.
Once the party’s reserved slots are factored into the final Knesset lineup, a number of sitting ministers and MKs are expected to fall outside positions considered realistic for entering the next Knesset. Among them are Ministers Ze’ev Elkin, May Golan, Avi Dichter and Idit Silman, along with MKs Nissim Vaturi, Keti Shitrit, Hanoch Milwidsky and Ariel Kallner.
Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu also scored victories in the regional contests, with all three candidates he endorsed winning their races. Erez Tadmor prevailed in the district encompassing Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the Shfela; Shlomo Lerner won the Dan and Tel Aviv district; and Yehoshua Shuki Ohana captured the Galilee and Valleys district. Two other Netanyahu-backed candidates, Osnat Zohar and Dr. Ruth Kabbesa Abramson, did not win positions on the slate.
Netanyahu, who serves as Likud chairman, welcomed the outcome and said he was “very pleased.”
“The new Likud slate reflects renewal and the integration of new figures at the top of the list. Together with the reserved candidates to be appointed by Prime Minister Netanyahu, who will further strengthen the slate, the Likud team led by Netanyahu will achieve a major victory and establish a broad national government immediately after the elections. This is the only way to prevent a left-wing government led by Eisenkot, Yair Golan, Lieberman, and the Arab parties,” Netanyahu said.
Likud issued its own statement after the results, saying: “Prime Minister Netanyahu thanks the Likud members who voted based on common sense and not political deals. Prime Minister Netanyahu also deeply appreciates those who did not secure a place on the slate, thanks them for their contribution, and intends to involve them in efforts to secure a Likud victory.”
The counting process began after polls closed Monday evening at 107 voting locations used by Likud members nationwide. After ballots were initially tallied at the individual polling sites, the boxes were slated to be transported to the Bloomfield Stadium complex in Tel Aviv for an additional count. Party officials had said the definitive results were not expected until the morning.
Likud reported that 75,177 members participated in the primary, producing a turnout of 53.5%. That represented a decline of approximately five percentage points compared with participation in the party’s previous primary election.
The voting was also accompanied by allegations of irregularities. Earlier in the process, Minister May Golan and MK Amit Halevi filed complaints with Likud’s Central Election Committee and called for counting at the Yeruham polling station to be stopped immediately. They alleged that votes were repeatedly erased, changed or recorded differently from the candidate names announced aloud, with corrections allegedly made only after a local observer objected and demanded that the records be fixed.
Regev, meanwhile, alleged Monday that the El Al workers’ union had mounted an effort to hurt her performance in the primary because of her move to allow expanded Wizz Air operations in Israel.
“Anyone who tells you ‘Miri Regev is secure’ wants to weaken me,” Regev said. “You know the El Al union decided to drop me from their slates. It’s all because I decided to bring in Wizz.”
Regev said the opposition would not cause her to reverse course on her plans for Israel’s aviation market. “I said I would lower flight prices, and that is what will happen,” she declared.
The transportation minister insisted that pressure from organized labor would not alter her position. “No union will intimidate me or extort me,” she added. “The citizens of the State of Israel come first.”
{Matzav.com}
