This means that the total number of votes for the two parties will be considered together to determine the number of seats allocated to them in the Knesset, when after determining the number of seats they will be divided according to their relative size. The purpose of a surplus agreement is usually to prevent waste of votes and “throwing ballot papers in the trash,” which do not converge into a full mandate.
The parties have announced the signing of the surplus agreement, but no reference has yet been made by the party leaders to the move.
“We are negotiating with the right to run together and restore unity to religious Zionism,” the party said. “Talks with Naftali Bennett are conducted in a good spirit, with the intention of uniting the ranks and working for the people of Israel, the Land of Israel and the Torah of Israel as in the past. We hope to close with Bennett soon.”