Balad
בל״ד
Balad ran inside Joint List in the election of 27 October 2026, and Joint List won 11 of the 120 seats. 3 of those seats are held by Balad.
Balad, the National Democratic Assembly, is a secular Arab party that Azmi Bishara founded in 1995. Its Hebrew initials spell the Arabic word for country. Sami Abu Shehadeh leads it.
Since 2015 it has run mostly inside the Joint List. Alone in 2022, it fell under the threshold, and in 2026 it ran inside the Joint List again.
- Leader
- Sami Abu Shehadeh
- Founded
- 1995
- Its list in 2026
- Joint List
- Joint lists
- Ra'am
The best result of Balad since 2013 was 3 seats, in the election of 2013.
Seats won in each Knesset election since 2013. Where Balad ran inside a joint list, the column is the whole list's seats.
On its own listThe whole joint list it ran inside
| Election | List | Letters | Votes | Share | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Joint List | 500,755 | 8.8% | 11 | |
| 2022 | Balad | ד | 138,617 | 2.9% | 0 |
| 2021 | Joint List | ודעם | 212,583 | 4.8% | 6 |
| 2020 | Joint List | ודעם | 581,507 | 12.7% | 15 |
| September 2019 | Joint List | ודעם | 470,211 | 10.6% | 13 |
| April 2019 | Ra'am | דעם | 143,666 | 3.3% | 4 |
| 2015 | Joint List | ודעם | 446,583 | 10.6% | 13 |
| 2013 | Balad | ד | 97,030 | 2.6% | 3 |
The results are the Central Elections Committee's; 2026 is the committee's official results of 4 November 2026. The committee's results
Balad has 3 members in the 26th Knesset.
Bakhar Awawdeh
No. 4 on the list
Maha Karkabi
No. 7 on the list
Hassan Nassasra
No. 10 on the list
In the election of 2022, Balad took its highest share of the vote in Zemer, 55.4%.
The five towns of at least 5,000 eligible voters where its list did best that year.
- Zemer55.4%
- Baqa al-Gharbiyye50.6%
- Jaat45.8%
- Abu Ghosh45.6%
- Ar'ara45.1%
These parties are part of the story of Balad.
- Joint ListThe Joint List is an alliance of Arab-majority parties.
- Ra'amRa'am, the United Arab List, is a conservative Arab party founded in 1996.
- HadashHadash, the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, is a socialist party of Jews and Arabs.
- Ta'alTa'al, the Arab Movement for Renewal, is an Arab nationalist party that Ahmad Tibi founded for the election of 1996, and he still leads it.
Frequently asked questions
Who leads Balad?
Sami Abu Shehadeh leads Balad.
When was Balad founded?
Balad was founded in 1995.
How many seats does Balad have in the Knesset?
Balad ran inside Joint List in the election of 27 October 2026, and Joint List won 11 of the 120 seats. 3 of those seats are held by Balad.
What were the ballot letters of Balad?
In the election of 2022, Balad ran on the ballot letters ד.
Sources: English Wikipedia, Balad (political party), Hebrew Wikipedia, ברית לאומית דמוקרטית, the Central Elections Committee.