Polling stations will open across the country Monday for the 140,000 members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party to choose candidates for the party’s election slate, a closely watched contest that could heavily influence the character of the next government should the pro-Netanyahu bloc win in October..

One of the few parties to determine its electoral lineup via primary, Likud has long prided itself on its internal democratic process. However, changes to the system this year pushed by Netanyahu shrinking the number of open spots on the roster have turned the vote into an unusually hotly contested race as party politicians jockey for a good enough showing to secure a likely Knesset seat.

The results of the vote, which is going ahead after apparent efforts by Netanyahu to cancel it were quashed, will also offer insight into whether Likud will continue sliding to the right and consolidate under Netanyahu, or whether it will bring moderates to the fore in a display of deepening internal dissatisfaction with Likud’s long-serving leader.

With about two and a half months before the general election, the field is crowded with Likud newcomers competing against incumbent MKs, many of whom are not expected to again win a seat in the upcoming Knesset.

Public opinion polls have consistently shown Likud getting 22-24 seats in the October 27 election, down from its current 32. A decision last month by the Likud Central Committee significantly expanded Netanyahu’s control over the party’s Knesset slate, granting him the power to place eight figures of his choosing in reserved slots among the top 29 places on the list.

That motion passed despite rare public dissent from within Likud, led by MK David Bitan, who argued it would push incumbent lawmakers down the list in favor of handpicked apparatchiks who will feel beholden to the premier.

Apart from his own spot atop the slate, which is not up for grabs in this vote, Netanyahu now controls the 3rd, 5th, 9th, 11th, 15th, 18th, 26th and 29th slots, giving him unprecedented influence over the party’s slate.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Likud Central Committee chair Haim Katz and political newcomer Oren Dobronsky have already been handed three of the eight earmarked slots — while Defense Minister Israel Katz was given an additional ninth........

© The Times of Israel