MK Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party has approved a series of measures aimed at opening and broadening its ranks, including an election for party leadership, it announced on Sunday.

The announcement’s significance lies in the fact that some public opinion polls have favored Gantz’s No. 2, fellow former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, over the current party leader.

The announcement came as most polls showed National Unity shrinking to below 10 seats, after reaching over 30 in polls conducted in the weeks and months following the October 7 Hamas massacre.

According to the party’s statement, the measures will be carried out in the coming months and will be led by party secretary-general Eytan Ginzburg and party CEO Yoav Te’eni, along with a “varied and shared” staff.

In addition to an election for party leadership, the measures will include enabling public registration to become party members, enlarging the party’s general assembly, reelecting an internal oversight committee, and forming “other internal institutions.”

MK Benny Gantz speaks at a conference at the Knesset. January 6, 2025. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)
MK Benny Gantz speaks at a conference at the Knesset. January 6, 2025. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

In Israel, citizens vote for parties and not for individuals

Eisenkot conditioned his entry into Gantz’s party ahead of the November 2022 election on its “democratization,” but Gantz’s delay in implementing Eisenkot’s demands led to numerous reports that the latter would run in a different party in the next election. Eisenkot has reportedly been courted by nearly all of the opposition’s Jewish parties, including by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who is a leading candidate to form the next government.

Bennett has yet to formally announce he is running, but has already decided to do so and has been preparing for months, according to numerous sources.

In the country’s parliamentary system, citizens vote for parties and not for individuals. Each party is composed of a list. The list in most parties is set by the party leader or by an internal vetting committee.

In two parties, Democrats and Likud, the list is set by a primary election. Rather than holding a primary election for the list prior to the election, Gantz proposed a bill in recent weeks that would enable voters on Election Day to vote for both a party and for the makeup of its list.

The bill is unlikely to pass.