Jerusalem: Last week, Israel’s Knesset officially dissolved and the Likud coalition successfully completed its tenure, a rare feat given the country’s political history. Now a bold pre-election survey has revealed some surprising insights about the voter sentiment ahead of October’s general election.
Israel Election Latest News: The Survey’s Insights
According to the new survey which was conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute, the vast majority of Israeli voters know who they’re voting for in October.
53% of voters have decided on their final choice, while 29% are ‘fairly sure’. 14% voters are currently undecided and the remaining 4% shared that they will skip voting altogether.
71% of left leaning voters are ‘completely sure’ of their choice, while on the right side of the spectrum, only 58% chose similarly. Meanwhile, among centrist voters, only 44% seemed to be sure.
“In other words, the campaign’s real battlefield is focused on the center,”, the JPPI accurately noted. Among Jews, the number of centrist voters has grown to 13% this year, a slight increase from last year’s 10%, while the contingent of left leaning Jews has declined (from last year’s 22% to this year’s 22%). While Arab voters seemed to lean mostly left.
Israel Election Latest News: Is Benjamin Netanyahu’s Popularity Waning?
Yes, it seems like the popularity of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest tenured Prime Minister is facing a shocking decline, owing to factors like the Lebanon war and mismanagement of the October 7 tragedy. According to JPPI’s survey results, the Likud coalition in Jerusalem would likely lose if the elections were held today. Only 16% of the voters expressed a wish to see a right wing bloc, similar to Likud, while 14% said that they would support it if centrist parties were included. Nevertheless Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of staff of IDF remains the favourite, despite his lack of political experience.
Israel Election 2026: Key Candidates
The race for Israel’s general election features 3 main candidates: Incumbent leader Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud), former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (Together alliance) and wildcard Gadi Eisenkot. Some other candidates for the election which is currently scheduled for 27th October, 2026 include Benny Gantz (National Unity) and Aryeh Deri (Shas).
Israel Election 2026: Main Parties Contesting
The main parties contesting the Israel general elections in 2026 include:
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Likud
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Together, an alliance formed by Naftali Bennett’s Bennett 2026 and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid.
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Shas
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Blue & White Israel Party
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UTJ
Israel 2022 Election Results: A Quick Recap
In 2022, 10 political parties contested the general elections of Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu’s right wing party, Likud claimed 32 seats in the Knesset. And Netanyahu successfully defeated then incumbent Yair Lapid.
