Ahmad Tibi: The Joint List will sign an excess vote agreement with Ra'am

Hadash-Ta'al chairman MK Ahmad Tibi announced that the Joint List will sign an excess vote agreement with Ra'am, headed by Mansour Abbas. The agreement reconnects the two Arab lists and strengthens the political connection within the left bloc, against the backdrop of Tibi's statements about an intention to replace the right-wing government.

Hadash-Ta'al chairman MK Ahmad Tibi announced today (Thursday) that the Joint List is expected to sign an excess vote agreement with Ra'am, headed by Mansour Abbas. The agreement, which will be officially submitted only after the lists are approved by the Central Elections Committee, reconnects the two Arab lists and sharpens the question of what the blocs will look like the day after the elections. Tibi stated that he has already spoken with Abbas about the agreement, and declared: "It will be signed before." The connection takes on broader political significance against the backdrop of Tibi's recent statements that the Joint List intends to act to replace the right-wing government. In an interview with Galei Tzahal, Tibi said: "We will do things we haven't done in the past, we want to change reality – we will send Ben Gvir and Smotrich home, without us there is no regime change." Tibi did not elaborate on how he intends to act after the elections, but his words position the Joint List as a significant player in the attempt to replace the right-wing government. The planned excess vote agreement with Ra'am – which was already a partner in the Bennett-Lapid government – strengthens the political connection between the Arab parties and a potential coalition against Netanyahu. In February, Tibi said that if the Joint List achieves 15-16 seats, Netanyahu "will not be a transitional prime minister." Previously, in September 2019, ten members of the Joint List recommended that Benny Gantz be tasked with forming the government.