Background | Timetable | Election Day | Results | What next?

On October 26, newly elected Kadima Chair Tzipi Livni informed President Shimon Peres that she did not succeed in forming a coalition government. Peres decided to call for general elections to the Knesset, which have been set for February 10, 2009.

National elections to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, are held once every four years, unless circumstances call for early elections. The framework of the Israeli electoral system is defined in Article 4 of the Basic Law: The Knesset, which states:

"The Knesset shall be elected by general, national, direct, equal, secret and proportional elections, in accordance with the Knesset Elections Law."  

• General: On election day, voters cast one ballot for a political party to represent them in the Knesset. Every Israeli citizen aged 18 or older has the right to vote. Israelis of all ethnic groups and religious beliefs, including Arab Israelis, actively participate in the process and for many years, voting percentages have reached close to 80 percent.
• National: The entire country constitutes a single electoral constituency.
• Direct: The Knesset, the Israeli parliament, is elected directly by the voters, not through a body of electors.
• Equal: All votes cast are equal in weight.
• Secret: Elections are by secret ballot.
• Proportional: The 120 Knesset seats are assigned in proportion to each party's percentage of the total national vote. However, the minimum required for a party to win a Knesset seat is 2% of the total votes cast.

Knesset elections are based on a vote for a party rather than for individuals, and the many political parties which compete for election to the Knesset reflect a wide range of outlooks and beliefs.

The direct election of the prime minister, instituted in Israel in 1996, was abolished under the revised Basic Law: The Government (2001) and the the task of forming a government and heading it as prime minister was assigned by the president to the Knesset member considered to have the best chance of forming a viable coalition government in light of the Knesset election results.

Every citizen aged 21 or older is eligible for election to the Knesset, provided they have no criminal record, do not hold an official position (the president, state comptroller, judges and senior public officials, as well as the chief-of-staff and high-ranking military officers, may not stand for election to the Knesset unless they have resigned their position at least 100 days before the elections), and the court has not specifically restricted this right (for example, in the rare case of a person convicted of treason).

Israel's elections reflect the strong democratic tradition of the State of Israel. Election campaigns are a lively affair, accompanied by vigorous debate of the issues. Israelis take a great interest in political affairs, including internal policy and foreign relations, and actively participate in the electoral process.

Only parties which have been legally registered with the Party Register, or an alignment of two or more registered parties, can present a list of candidates and participate in the elections. Prior to the elections, each party presents its platform, and the list of candidates for the Knesset, in order of precedence. The parties select their candidates for the Knesset in primaries or by other procedures. 33 party lists are competing for seats in the 18th Knesset.

Knesset seats are assigned in proportion to each party's percentage of the total national vote. A party's surplus votes, which are insufficient for an additional seat, are redistributed among the various parties according to their proportional size resulting from the elections, or as agreed between parties prior to the election.

According to the Party Financing Law, a treasury allocation for election campaigns is granted to each faction at the rate of one pre-defined "financing unit" per seat won in the previous Knesset elections plus one unit per mandate won in the current Knesset elections, divided by two, plus one additional financing unit. New factions receive a similar allocation, retroactively, based on the number of seats won in the elections.

No faction may receive a contribution, directly or indirectly, from any person or his dependents in excess of the sum established by law and linked to the Consumer Price Index. A faction or list of candidates may not receive a financial contribution from someone who is not eligible to vote in the elections.

The Central Elections Committee, headed by a justice of the Supreme Court and including representatives of the parties holding seats in the Knesset, is responsible for conducting and supervising the elections. Regional election committees oversee the functioning of local polling committees, which include representatives of at least three parties in the outgoing Knesset. Anyone aged 16 or older is eligible to serve on a polling committee.

According to the Basic Law: The Knesset, the Central Elections Committee may prevent a candidates' list from participating in elections if its objectives or actions, expressly or by implication, include one of the following:

1. negation of the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people;
2. negation of the democratic character of the State;
3. incitement to racism.

Timetable

• Nov 11, 2008 - 17th Knesset begins pre-elections recess
• Dec 24, 2008 - Parties submit lists of candidates to the Central Elections Committee
• Jan 1, 2009 - Deadline for submitting petitions to disqualify a party list
• Jan 16, 2009 - Approval of party lists by Central Elections Committee
• Jan 27, 2009 - Election advertising begins on radio and television
• Jan 29, 2009 - Voting in Israeli diplomatic missions abroad
• Feb 10, 2009 - Election day
• Feb 18, 2009 - Publication of official election results
• Mar 2, 2009 - 18th Knesset convenes

Major party lists
(as published by The Jerusalem Post)

Note: Full list of 34 parties is available on the Knesset website (Hebrew)

Kadima
Top 10 candidates: Tzipi Livni, Shaul Mofaz, Dalia Itzik, Tzahi Hanegbi, Ronnie Bar-On, Ze'ev Boim, Meir Sheetrit, Ruhama Avraham-Balila, Avi Dichter, Marina Solodkin
http://www.kadima.org.il/ (Hebrew, Russian)

Likud - Ahi
Top 10 candidates: Binyamin Netanyahu, Gideon Sa'ar, Gilad Erdan, Reuven Rivlin, Bennie Begin, Moshe Kahlon, Silvan Shalom, Moshe Ya'alon, Yuval Steinitz, Leah Nass
http://www.netanyahu.org.il/ (Hebrew, English, Russian)

Labor
Top 10 candidates: Ehud Barak, Isaac Herzog, Ophir Paz-Pines, Avishay Braverman, Shelly Yacimovich, Matan Vilna'i, Eitan Cabel, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Yuli Tamir, Amir Peretz
http://www.havoda.org.il/ (Hebrew)

Israel Beytenu
Top 10 candidates: Avigdor Lieberman, Uzi Landau, Stas Meseznikov, Yitzhak Aharonovich, Sofa Landver, Orly Levy, Danny Ayalon, David Rotem, Anastasia Michaeli, Faina Kirschenbaum
http://beytenu.org.il/ (Hebrew, English, Russian)

Shas
Top 10 candidates: Eli Yishai, Ariel Attias, Yitzhak Cohen, Amnon Cohen, Meshulam Nahari, Ya'acov Margi, David Azoulay, Yitzhak Vaknin, Nissim Ze'ev, Haim Amsalem
http://www.shas.org.il/ (Hebrew)

Meretz and The New Movement
Top 10 candidates: Haim Oron, Ilan Gilon, Nitzan Horowitz, Zehava Gal-On, Mossi Raz, Avshalom Vilan, Talia Sasson, Tzvia Greenfeld, Tzali Reshef, Issawi Freij
http://www.myparty.org.il/ (Hebrew)

United Torah Judaism
Top 10 candidates: Ya'acov Litzman, Moshe Gafni, Meir Porush, Uri Maklev, Menahem Eliezer Moses, Yisrael Eichler, Menahem Carmel, Ya'acov Guterman, Avraham Yosef Lazerson, Shimon Hadad

National Union
Top 5 candidates: Ya'acov Katz, Uri Ariel, Arye Eldad, Michael Ben-Ari, Uri Bank
http://www.leumi.org.il/ (Hebrew, English, French, Russian)

Habayit Hayehudi - The New National Religious Party (NRP)
Top 5 candidates: Daniel Herschkowitz, Zevulun Orlev, Uri Orbach, Nissan Slomiansky, Shalom Jerby.
http://www.111.org.il/ (Hebrew)

Balad
Top 5 candidates: Jamal Zahalka, Said Nafa, Hanin Zuabi, Abbas Zakour, Oonie Tuma.
http://www.tajamoa.org/ (Arabic, English, Hebrew)

Hadash
Top 5 candidates: Muhammad Barakei, Hanna Sweid, Dov Henin, Abu Agberiah, Aida Tuma-Kalimah
http://hadash2009.org.il/ (Hebrew, Arabic)

United Arab List-Ta'al
Top 5 candidates: Ibrahim Sarsour, Ahmed Tibi, Taleb a-Sanaa, Masid Gnaim, Taleb Abu Arar
http://www.a-m-c.org/ (Arabic)

Green Party
Top 5 candidates:  Pe'er Visner, Dror Ezra, Ariella Ringel-Hoffman, Rafi Kishon, Alex Weinreb.
http://www.green-party.co.il/Election2009/ (Hebrew, English, French, Russian)

Meimad-Green Movement
Top 5 candidates: Michael Melchior, Eran Ben-Yemini, Alon Tal, Yonina Falnberg, Iris Hahn.
http://hayeruka-meimad.org.il/ (Hebrew, English, Russian, Arabic)

Pensioners
Top 5 candidates: Rafi Eitan, Gideon Reicher, Yossi Katz, Ya'acov Ben-Yizri, Shimrit Or.
http://www.gimlaim.org.il/ (Hebrew)

Other parties: Israel Hazaka, Or, Green Leaf, Tzomet.

See also: Ynet - Party fact file

Election Day

All citizens aged 18 or older on election day are eligible to vote. Election day is a holiday in order to enable all to participate. Soldiers on active duty vote in special polling stations in their units. Special arrangements have also been made for prison inmates to vote, as well as for those confined to hospital.

Israeli law does not provide for absentee ballots, and voting takes place only on Israeli soil. The sole exceptions are Israeli citizens serving on Israeli ships and in Israeli embassies and consulates abroad.

Number of eligible voters in the 2009 Knesset elections: 5,278,985

Number of ballot boxes in Israel: 9,263, including 194 in hospitals and 56 in prisons

Final election results

Voter turnout: 65.2%
Number of votes cast: 3,416,587
Number of valid votes: 3,373,490
Number of invalid votes: 43,097

 
The remaining lists did not win enough votes to enter the 18th Knesset.

- Members of the 18th Knesset

Forming the government

The government (cabinet of ministers) is the executive authority of the state, charged with administering internal and foreign affairs, including security matters. Like the Knesset, the government usually serves for four years, but its tenure may be shortened if the prime minister is unable to continue in office due to death, resignation or impeachment, when the government appoints one of its members (who is a Knesset member) as acting prime minister.

When a new government is to be constituted, the President of the State, after consulting with representatives of the parties elected to the Knesset, assigns the task of forming the government to a Knesset member. This Knesset member is usually the leader of the party with the largest Knesset representation or the head of the party that leads a coalition with more than 60 members.
- President Shimon Peres tasks MK Binyamin Netanyahu with forming government

Since a government requires the Knesset's confidence to function, it must have a supporting coalition of at least 61 of the 120 Knesset members. To date, no party has received enough Knesset seats to be able to form a government by itself; thus all Israeli governments have been based on coalitions of several parties, with those remaining outside the government making up the opposition.

The Knesset member to whom the task is assigned has a period of 28 days to form a government. The President may extend the term by an additional period of time, not exceeding 14 days.

If this period (up to 42 days) has passed and the designated Knesset member has not succeeded in forming a government, the President may then assign the task of forming a government to another Knesset member. This Knesset member has a period of 28 days for the fulfillment of the task.

If a government still has not been formed, an absolute majority of Knesset members (61) has the option of applying in writing to the President, asking him to assign the task to a particular Knesset member. Such a precedent has yet to occur.

When a government has been formed, the designated prime minister presents it to the Knesset within 45 days of publication of election results in the official gazette. At this time, he announces its composition, the basic guideline of its policy, and the distribution of functions among its ministers. The prime minister then asks the Knesset for an expression of confidence. The government is installed when the Knesset has expressed confidence in it by a majority of 61 Knesset members, and the ministers thereupon assume office.