Israelis begin voting in Knesset elections on Tuesday under a complex electoral system in which even a small political party can play a pivotal role in determining the shape of the next government.
Israel holds parliamentary elections under a system of proportional representation, which allocates seats in the Knesset to parties and electoral lists according to the number of votes they receive, provided they clear the legally mandated electoral threshold.
The Knesset has 120 seats. Elections are generally held every four years, although Parliament can be dissolved and early elections called.
Israelis elect Knesset members by voting for candidate lists submitted by political parties, rather than by electing individual lawmakers in local constituencies.
The entire country constitutes a single electoral district, meaning that votes are counted toward the nationwide totals of the participating lists.
Israeli citizens are eligible to vote from the age of 18, while candidates must generally be at least 21 to run for a seat in the Knesset, according to the official electoral rules.
What Is the Electoral Threshold, and How Are the 120 Seats Allocated?
The electoral threshold for Knesset elections is 3.25% of valid votes, equivalent to four seats. Any list that fails to meet this threshold is excluded from parliamentary representation, and the votes it receives are not included in the allocation of seats among qualifying lists, according to the Knesset’s explanation of seat allocation.
This rule means that thousands of votes may fail to translate into parliamentary seats if they go to a list that does not clear the threshold. That, in turn, can affect how seats are distributed among the remaining lists. Winning the largest number of seats does not automatically make a party leader prime minister. A candidate must still assemble a coalition backed by at least 61 lawmakers.
The electoral threshold was raised to its current level in March 2014, having been lower in previous years. As part of the electoral system, it establishes the minimum level of electoral support a list must secure to enter Parliament.
Once voting ends and ballots are counted, officials determine which lists have cleared the threshold and then allocate seats among them according to the number of votes each has received.
How Is a Government Formed After the Election?
Voters do not elect the prime minister directly on election day. Instead, they choose Knesset members by voting for party lists. Once the results are announced, the constitutional process of forming a government begins.
No party in Israel has ever won an outright majority on its own, so governments are formed through coalitions of multiple parties. When disagreements arise, these coalitions can quickly unravel.
This gives smaller parties considerable leverage over who becomes prime minister and how long the government remains in office. Prime ministers are often forced to accommodate the demands of particular political constituencies to keep their coalitions intact and remain in power.
After the official results are announced, the president consults representatives of the elected parties and lists. Each parliamentary bloc recommends a Knesset member it considers suitable to form the government, according to official information on the presidency.
The law does not require the president to select the leader of the largest party. Instead, the president chooses the person deemed most likely to secure sufficient parliamentary support — a majority of at least 61 seats in the Knesset through coalition agreements.
In practice, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is often given the first opportunity to form a government, as that person is generally expected to attract the largest number of lawmakers’ recommendations. But this is a political convention, not a constitutional requirement.
Once the designated candidate has secured sufficient parliamentary support, the candidate presents the government to the Knesset for a confidence vote, in accordance with the law.
The Israeli president gives the designated candidate 28 days to form a government, with the option of extending the deadline by up to 14 additional days, for a maximum of 42 days.
If the candidate fails to form a government, the president may assign the task to another Knesset member, who is given 28 days without the possibility of an extension.
The electoral process therefore unfolds in several interconnected stages: voting for party lists, counting ballots, determining which lists have cleared the electoral threshold, allocating parliamentary seats, and then holding consultations and designating a candidate to form a government capable of securing the Knesset’s support.
Adapted and translated from the original Arabic.
