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Turnout | 80.84% | |||||||||||||||
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The 2022 Meretz leadership election was held on 23 August 2022[1] in the leadup to the 2022 Israeli legislative election. On 12 July, incumbent Nitzan Horowitz announced that he would not seek re-election as leader. Former party leader Zehava Galon defeated former deputy Chief of the General Staff Yair Golan.[2]
In June 2019, incumbent leader of Meretz Tamar Zandberg was defeated by Nitzan Horowitz in a vote held by the party's conference ahead of a legislative election in September.[3][4] Following his election, Horowitz formed an alliance with the Israel Democratic Party and the Green Party, named the Democratic Union.[5] The alliance won five seats in the election.[6] In the 2020 election, Meretz ran in a joint list with the Israeli Labor Party and Gesher, which won seven seats.[7] In December 2020, Yair Golan, who previously led the Israel Democratic Party, announced that he would join Meretz.[8] Meretz ran alone in the 2021 election, where it won six seats,[9] and subsequently participated the thirty-sixth government, the first time Meretz sat in a government since 2001.[10][11]
Criticism of incumbent party leader Nitzan Horowitz's leadership included a failure to keep the party's Knesset members in line, which was blamed for playing a factor in the breakdown of the governing coalition.[12] After an early Knesset election was called, polls showed Meretz polling near (and often below) the electoral threshold.[13] Despite the interest of leadership within Meretz to run on a joint list with the Israeli Labor Party in the coming election, that party's leader, Merav Michaeli, had dismissed the possibility of this.[12]
On 12 July 2022, Horowitz announced he would not seek re-election as party leader, but would remain in politics.[14] On 18 July, following speculation regarding a potential candidacy, former leader of Meretz Zehava Galon stated that she would "Announce when there is something to announce", neither confirming nor denying reports that she was considering a run.[15][16] The next day, Galon announced she would run for the leadership of Meretz.[17]
The following individual withdrew from the election:
The following individual was speculated as a potential candidate, but did not run:
On 6 July 2022, Yair Galon announced his candidacy for Meretz leadership, setting up a contested leadership vote.[12] On 12 July 2022, incumbent leader Horowitz withdrew from seeking reelection as party leader.[13] While former party leader Zehava Galon had originally dismissed the possibility of a run at the time that Yair Galon entered the race,[12] calls for her to run continued.[12] On 19 July, Galon announced her candidacy.[1]
Against Galon, who had already served as party leader, Golan cast himself as leading the party towards the future rather than the past.[1]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Meretz | Zehava Galon | 9,443 | 61.6% | |
Meretz | Yair Golan | 5,710 | 37.25% | |
Abstaining | 176 | 1.15% | ||
Turnout | 15,329 | 80.84% |