Golan Democrats project nine or ten Knesset seats

Exit polls broadcast on October 27, 2026, project that the Democrats party will secure between nine and 10 seats in the 120-member Knesset.

The party, led by Yair Golan, holds four seats in the outgoing parliament. Preliminary data from Channel 12, the Kan public broadcaster, Maariv, and The Jerusalem Post all indicated a projection of 10 seats for Golan's slate, while other estimates placed the count between eight and 10 seats. Final numbers depend on the official vote count and seat allocation.

Golan campaigned on a platform of fundamental change. He pledged to bar politicians under criminal indictment from serving as prime minister or cabinet ministers. The Democrats also backed Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara against government efforts to undermine the judiciary.

On domestic issues, the party advocated for the separation of religion and state. This included introducing civil marriage and protecting the right of businesses to operate on Shabbat. Golan criticized National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for handling the crime wave in Arab communities and opposed military draft exemptions for Haredi men.

The Democrats rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s strategy of repeated military operations. Golan proposed a regional accord to establish a demilitarized Palestinian state. The party opposed West Bank annexation and called for halting state funding for illegal outposts. It pledged to remove Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s civil administration powers in the West Bank and return control to the IDF.

Golan ruled out joining a coalition led by Netanyahu or sitting alongside Smotrich, Ben-Gvir, or ultra-Orthodox parties. He supported forming a government with Arab parties like Ra'am, describing their participation as necessary for Israeli democracy.

The Democrats formed in July 2024 through a merger of the Labor Party and Meretz. The party aimed to consolidate the Israeli left after the 2022 election left Meretz below the 3.25% threshold. Its primary slate, selected in July, placed incumbent lawmakers Naama Lazimi, Gilad Kariv, and Efrat Rayten behind Golan.