Labor, Meretz delegates to approve merger in Tel Aviv convention

Delegates of the newly formed "Democrats" Party will convene in Tel Aviv on Friday to officially approve the merger agreement between the left-wing Labor and Meretz parties, as well as approve a number of other provisions related to the new party's leadership and organizational structure.

The convention will be held at the Tel Aviv Expo and will include the approximately 700 party delegates who were elected on June 26. The delegates include representatives of Labor, Meretz, and protest movements against the government's 2023 judicial reforms.

The central item on the convention's agenda will be the official approval of the merger agreement between Meretz and Labor. The agreement stipulates that the party's list for the next Knesset election will include at least one representative of Meretz in the top four spots, two Meretz representatives in the top seven spots, three in the top 12, and four in the top 16.

The parties will not be able to split following the election but will continue to operate financially as two separate corporations. Meretz, which accrued millions of shekels of debt in the previous election, will therefore need to repay the debt independently of Labor.

The joint party will hold a primary election to determine its list for the Knesset. However, in addition to the aforementioned spots reserved for Meretz members and to the gender parity requirements in the list's makeup, party chairman Yair Golan will receive one personal choice to incorporate into the list, likely into the number two spot after Golan himself.

Tzipi Livni may get the number two spot in the new party

Channel 12's Dafna Liel reported Thursday that Golan had offered the spot to former justice and foreign minister Tzipi Livni. According to Liel, another candidate being considered was former justice minister and former Histadrut chairman, Avi Nissenkorn. A spokesperson for the party admitted that Golan has been meeting with various candidates but said that Golan will decide at a later stage, perhaps only after an election is called.

Other votes in the convention will include approving the convention's work procedures, an appeals mechanism against party decisions, the party's board of directors and constitution committee as well as some initial changes to its constitution.

The convention will also include debates on core issues that will serve as the ideological basis for its official platform, including national and personal security, healing Israeli society, anchoring the state's liberal-democratic character, ensuring quality public education for all, and a "new economic priority list."

In a quote that accompanied the announcement of the convention, Golan said that the convention "is our place to act democratically and not just speak in the name of democracy, is the place to empower the (party's) grassroots and activists, and enable them to democratically decide on the most important topics on the party's agenda."