The Labor Party Primary Elections
Labor was the only political party to elect its chair and candidates for the Knesset in primary elections consecutively since 1992 – including in the 2021 election. While its membership is dropping, this is consistent with ongoing trends in most Western democracies.
Due to the extraordinary circumstances of the September 2019 and 2020 elections, the ranking of the party's candidates for the 22nd Knesset (as part of the Labor-Gesher list) and the 23rd (as part of the Labor-Gesher-Meretz list) was based on the primaries held ahead of the 21st Knesset elections (April 2019).
According to the Intra-party Democracy Index, which measures the level of internal democracy along five dimensions, the Labor Party received the highest scores among all Israeli parties. In the index published on the eve of the 2015 elections, it scored highest—among all the parties—85 (out of 100), and once again—in the index published on the eve of the April 2019 elections, achieved the same score—once again putting it in first place, which it shared with Meretz.
The chart below shows the number of Labor Party registered members since 1992. The general trend is a drop in membership since 1996. This trend is not surprising and is consistent with party membership trends in most Western democracies and in Israel.
As noted, the Labor Party is the only Israeli party that has consecutively adhered to party primaries as a means for selecting candidates from 1992 to 2021 (except for the extraordinary elections of September 2019 and 2020). In total, 11 primaries were held during this period to elect the party Chairperson, and ten more to determine the list of candidates. On average, about 65,000 party members voted in these primaries, with a turnout of about 59% of eligible voters.
As noted, the Labor Party is the only Israeli party that has consecutively adhered to party primaries as a means for selecting candidates from 1992 to 2021 (except for the extraordinary elections of September 2019 and 2020). In total, 11 primaries were held during this period to elect the party Chairperson, and ten more to determine the list of candidates. On average, about 65,000 party members voted in these primaries, with a turnout of about 59% of eligible voters.
| Chair/List | # of Participations | Rate of Participation | |
| 1992 | Chair | 108,347 | 70.10% |
| 1992 | List | 118,197 | 72.00% |
| 1996 | List | 194,788 | 74.60% |
| 1997 | Chair | 114,144 | 69.20% |
| 1999 | List | 101,087 | 62.00% |
| 2001 | Chair | 64,219 | 54.80% |
| 2002 | Chair | 66,256 | 60.00% |
| 2002 | List | 58,783 | 53.00% |
| 2005 | Chair | 64,204 | 63.90% |
| 2006 | List | 68,331 | 58.40% |
| 2007 | Chair | 67,454 | 65.20% |
| 2008 | List | 31,789 | 53.90% |
| 2011 | Chair | 44,067 | 66.00% |
| 2012 | List | 35,035 | 58.00% |
| 2013 | Chair | 28,806 | 52.70% |
| 2015 | List | 28,742 | 58.80% |
| 2017 | Chair | 30,998 | 59.00% |
| 2019 | List | 33,672 | 56.30% |
| 2019 | Chair | 29,839 | 45.70% |
| 2021 | Chair | 9,651 | 26.00% |
| 2021 | List | ? | ? |
| Average | 65,000 | 59.00% |