Left-wing Democrats party announces July 20 primaries ahead of Knesset election

By Ariela Karmel

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18 June 2026, 4:16 pm

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

The Democrats chairman Yair Golan (center, standing) holds a press conference in Tel Aviv to present the party’s new members, January 6, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The left-wing Democrats party announces that it will hold primaries for its Knesset slate on July 20, ahead of the upcoming legislative election due to be held by October 27.

Candidate registration will close on June 25, with the full list of primary candidates to be published on June 30. Members who join the party through July 12 can vote in the primaries.

The party says it has surpassed 75,000 registered members, arguing that the figure demonstrates a demand for “Zionist, liberal and clean leadership that will put the country back on track.”

While the party currently holds four Knesset seats, it is expected to more than double its representation in the next election, having consistently polled at 10-11 seats for months, including in surveys conducted by The Times of Israel’s sister site Zman Yisrael.

The party was formed in 2024 through the merger of Labor and Meretz, which both historically held primaries. Only a handful of Israeli parties, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, use primaries to select their Knesset slates

The party’s leader, Yair Golan, occupies the top spot on the slate and will not be competing in the primary. Candidates below him will be ranked according to the number of votes they receive, subject to party rules meant to create gender parity, representation for Meretz candidates, kibbutzim and moshavim, and Arab and Druze minorities.

MKs Naama Lazimi, Gilad Kariv and Efrat Rayten are among those running, alongside former Meretz MK Michal Rozin, former deputy national security adviser Eran Etzion, Rabbis for Human Rights CEO Avi Dabush, Danny Elgarat, brother of slain hostage Itzik Elgarat, Arab rights activist Somaya Bashir and anti-government protest leaders Moshe Radman, Ami Dror, Moran Michel and Nava Rozolyo.

Current MK and former Labor chair Merav Michaeli will not run.