Members of the libertarian-leaning Zehut party voted Sunday to accept a deal with the Likud, ending the party’s bid for the Knesset.
Some 77% of party members voted to back the deal, after Zehut chairman Moshe Feiglin reached the agreement with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu last week.
Under the deal, the Likud agreed to take on Zehut’s roughly 3 million shekels in debt, and to appoint Feiglin a minister in the next government, should the Likud form the coalition.
In addition, the Likud vowed to adopt parts of Zehut’s political agenda, including free market economic reforms and the expanded legalization of medicinal marijuana.
Despite reaching the agreement with Netanyahu, Feiglin put the deal to a vote of Zehut members Sunday, vowing to adhere to the wishes of party members.
Of Zehut’s 4,174 members, 2,051 were eligible to participate in the referendum, with 1,509 actually voting. Just over 77%, or 1,165 members, voted in favor of the deal, compared to 310 who voted against it, and 25 who refused to either support or oppose the deal.
“I thank the party members who approved by a wide margin the deal today which I signed with the Prime Minister,” said Feiglin Sunday evening. “With God’s help, the decision we took today will lead us to achieving Zehut’s agenda from inside the government and the Knesset, and in the future towards the building of a party that is important to us, ahead of future challenges.”