Elections: Poll places Likud in lead, Left struggling for seats
The poll asked 504 Israelis questions about their political preferences as elections intensify.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFMK Yair Lapid speaks during a Knesset plenary session at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem on August 24, 2020.(photo credit: OREN BEN HAKOON/POOL)
A new political poll shows mandate numbers spreading thin among the Left, making the future of a successful coalition, with 61 mandates needed, grim.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, the political-right stronghold, came out with 28 seats. The poll showed that that number would decrease only by one if there was a coalition between Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid Party, trailing at 15 seats, and Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai's Israelis Party, which, at present, won't pass the 3.25% electoral threshold, together totaling at 19 seats.Published on Friday, the poll asked 504 Israelis questions about their political preferences, and was conducted by Hebrew newspaper Israel Hayom and the Maagar Mochot Research Institute.Should they join forces, Lapid and Huldai's parties would come in second place after Likud. When asked by the pollsters who they think should be prime minister, it fell in that order: 33% said Netanyahu should, while 14% said Lapid should. In seats, Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope followed with 13 seats, trending slowly downward, Naftali Bennett's Yamina had 11, gaining momentum due to his joining with the independent businessmen of Ani Shulman, as did the Joint List.The religious parties fell in next, with Shas at nine seats and United Torah Judaism with seven. Yisrael Beytenu and Meretz both followed with six seats, with Labor — headed by Merav Michaeli — and Blue and White trailing with five. Former Finance Ministry accountant-general Yaron Zelekha's party finished off with four seats. The deadline for the parties to release their full lists of party members. Elections are expected to take place on March 23.
