Democrats Party leader Yair Golan on Tuesday laid out his party’s plans ahead of the upcoming elections, pledging to advance legislation barring politicians with criminal records from serving as prime minister or being a part of the next government, arguing that Israel needs “a fundamental change.”
The statements came at a party press conference following the recent primaries that were held after the Democrats Party finalized its Knesset slate on Monday. More than 97,000 of its registered members voted in the primaries to determine which candidates would be on the Knesset slate ahead of the upcoming elections, set for October 27.
“We are not satisfied with slogans about a ‘better government’ or ‘good governance.’ We have come to repair and change the very system that made this disaster possible in the first place,” Golan said.
Multiple coalition MKs and ministers in the current government are under criminal investigation.
Golan said that “we are committing today that, from our very first moment in government, we will advance legislation barring criminal defendants from serving in office.”
Golan: ‘zero criminal defendants’
“In our government, there will be zero criminal defendants. Zero.”
“This is a fundamental principle of democracy. Anyone under criminal indictment cannot serve as prime minister or as a government minister,” he added.
Golan also noted that, if such a law had been passed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not have served as premier over the past four years, due to his ongoing criminal trial.
“Israel would have been spared much of the security, political, institutional, and moral devastation it has endured [if the law had been enacted],” Golan said.
The left-wing Democrats are one of the core parties in the opposition bloc seeking to replace Netanyahu in the upcoming elections. The party was established in 2024 by the merging of the Labor and Meretz parties.
“Israel needs, this time, a fundamental change. A change to the rules of the game. A state that strengthens and protects its democracy, so that no one can ever again dismantle it from within,” Golan said.
The parties’ primaries placed Democrats MK Naama Lazimi in the second slot on the list, after Golan. She was followed by fellow Democrats MKs Gilad Kariv in third place and MK Efrat Rayten in fourth.
The fifth through 10th slots went to social and political activist Yaya Fink, former Meretz MK Gaby Lasky, social activist and reservist Omri Ronen, former Meretz MK Michal Rozin, judicial reform protest leader Moshe Radman, and Israeli-Arab activist Soumaya Bashir.
The candidates for the primaries included 17 leaders involved in protest movements and public activism, 12 former IDF officers, 11 candidates with backgrounds in the civil service, 19 women, nine candidates under the age of 45, eight former Knesset members, four candidates from the Arab community, three from the Druze community, and two members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Golan referred to the list on Tuesday as “the best, the most determined, principled, and professional slate in Israeli politics.”
“It combines experience, leadership, and a record of public struggle. The people standing here beside me have proven themselves through an uncompromising fight for the country,” he added.
“Anyone who truly wants that change, anyone who wants a government that is not afraid to make difficult decisions and will not retreat at the decisive moment, needs strong Democrats,” Golan said.
