Likud polls close, with turnout estimated at a low 53%

17 August 2026, 9:12 pm

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Likud party members are seen at a polling station in Jerusalem on August 17, 2026, as party members vote in the primary election. (Chaim Goldberg/ Flash90)

Polls close in the Likud’s primary election after eleven hours of voting, with 53.5 percent of party members casting ballots, according to a party spokesman.

This marks a decrease in voter participation since the last primary in 2022, when close to 58% of members voted.

This year, however, many fewer spots on the governing party’s slate are open to candidates, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was given the ability to personally select a larger number of candidates, and because the party is slated to win significantly fewer seats than it currently holds. It is expected to win fewer than 25 seats, meaning that many of the 32 Likud lawmakers now serving in Knesset will likely lose their seats.