# Israeli election disqualification of Arab political parties

> Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/israeli-election-disqualification-of-arab-political-parties
> Updated: 2026-09-25T02:41:41.000Z. Sources: 55. Developments: 2.

Israel’s Central Elections Committee has voted to disqualify several major Arab political entities from the parliamentary elections scheduled for October 27. The decision, reached by an 18-to-5 vote, bars the United Arab List (Ra’am), led by Mansour Abbas, and the Joint List, which includes the Hadash, Ta’al, and Balad parties. Individual candidates, including Hadash legislator Ofer Cassif and Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh, were also disqualified.

Proponents of the move, including the Likud party and members of the governing coalition, cited security concerns and alleged that these groups support armed struggle or refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. Conversely, the affected parties have condemned the decision as “political, racist, and anti-democratic,” with Ra’am suggesting the exclusion is an attempt to shift the balance of power.

While the committee moved to bar these Arab lists, it rejected a request to disqualify the far-right Otzma Yehudit party. The disqualifications could significantly impact future government coalitions by removing representation for approximately one million Arab citizens. The decisions are not final and await review by the Supreme Court, which has historically overturned similar disqualifications.

## Claims

- voted to bar the country’s two main Arab-majority political lists from the October 27 parliamentary election (corroborated by 4 sources)
- is expected to review the disqualification decisions (corroborated by 3 sources)
- disqualified politician Ofer Cassif and Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh (corroborated by 2 sources)
- cited support for armed struggle against Israel as the reason for barring Arab parties (corroborated by 2 sources)
- cited refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state as a reason for disqualifying Ra’am (corroborated by 2 sources)
- rejected the disqualification request for the Otzma Yehudit party (single source)

## Timeline

### 2026-09-25: Israel disqualifies major Arab political parties from upcoming elections

Israel's Central Elections Committee has voted to bar the Ra’am party and the Joint List alliance from the October 27 parliamentary elections, citing security and state recognition concerns.

6 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/israel-disqualifies-arab-political-parties-from-upcoming-elections

### 2026-09-22: Israel Central Elections Committee votes to bar main Arab lists

Israel’s Central Elections Committee has voted to disqualify the main Arab electoral lists and two candidates from the upcoming October 27 elections, a move pending Supreme Court approval.

51 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/israeli-elections-committee-moves-to-disqualify-sami-abu-shuhada-and-ofer-cassif

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Cite as: Israeli election disqualification of Arab political parties. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/israeli-election-disqualification-of-arab-political-parties