The Democrats Party has surpassed 75,000 members, setting a new membership record, it reported Wednesday.
The party said it would have primaries to determine its Knesset list on July 20 ahead of the upcoming election, pending approval by the Central Elections Committee.
The Democrats Party was established in 2024 by the merging of the Labor and Meretz parties.
The party said it expects more than 50 candidates to run for places on its list as part of an “open and transparent democratic process, one of the largest and most significant in Israel’s political system.”
The deadline for submitting candidacies for its primaries has been set for June 25. Its voter registry for the primaries will close on July 13.
The Democrats said its membership numbers were the highest in the left-wing camp since the late 1990s.
The moral and leading force in the next government
The Democrats chairman Yair Golan on Wednesday said his party “will be the moral and leading force in the next government, and I call on anyone who truly wants change to join us now.”
A growing number of public figures have joined the party and announced plans to run in the primaries, The Democrats said.
Social and political activist Yaya Fink this week said he would run. So did former Meretz MK Michal Rozin.
Rabbis for Human Rights executive director Avi Dabush said he would run in the primaries.
Social activist and reservist Omri Ronen in February said he would join The Democrats, alongside several figures from the judicial-reform and hostage-deal protest movements.
Among those who have confirmed their candidacies are Moshe Radman, Moran Michel, Danny Elgarat, Hadas Ragolsky, Gaby Lasky, Ami Dror, Lee Hoffman, Kati Piasecki, Rotem Sivan, and Tomer Avital, The Democrats said.
The general election is scheduled to take place no later than October 27.