Eisenkot's Yashar Party Leads Likud by One Seat in Post-Primary Poll

Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party has taken a one-seat lead over Likud, according to a KAN News poll released Wednesday. Yashar secured 24 seats, while Likud followed with 23. Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad party ranked third with 14 seats.

Despite these shifts, the overall balance of power between political blocs remains consistent. The current coalition would garner 52 seats, while the opposition bloc would secure 57. Arab parties are projected to hold a combined 11 seats.

Likud's recent primaries were marked by heightened competition, partly due to rule changes that expanded Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's influence over the party's Knesset list. A controversial measure approved last month by the Likud Central Committee grants Netanyahu the authority to assign eight of the first thirty positions on the party's slate.

Energy Minister Eli Cohen secured the top spot on Likud's Knesset list, followed by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, and coalition chairman Ofir Katz in the second through fifth positions. A poll indicated that 44% of respondents believe Likud's primary list is unchanged from previous iterations, while 18% found it improved and 14% considered it worse. Among those intending to vote for Likud, 41% agreed the new list was an improvement.

Additionally, a majority of 62% of poll respondents opposed reserving a spot on the Likud list for Religious Zionist Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich. The poll also indicated that the Democrats, led by Yair Golan, would win 10 seats, with Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit and Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu each securing nine seats.