Origins of the Knesset

The Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset, consists of 120 members, a structure inspired by the "Great Assembly" or Knesset Haggedola, a council of religious leaders and Jewish sages in Jewish rabbinic tradition that reorganized Jewish worship in Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile in the fifth century BCE. Since its establishment in 1949, the Knesset has been the core of political power in Israel's unicameral parliamentary democracy, providing the political legitimacy for the government, which holds executive power. The president of Israel, elected by the Knesset, has largely an honorific role.

Upcoming Election Details

On October 27, Israelis are called to elect the 120 members of the Knesset for a four-year term. All Israeli citizens aged at least 18 on the day of the election and registered on the electoral lists have the right to vote, with more than 7.3 million eligible voters, including over 500,000 potential first-time voters. Israelis can only vote on the national territory, with a few exceptions.

Voting Process and Exceptions

Civil servants and diplomats stationed abroad have already begun voting on October 15, and military personnel on missions outside the country will be able to vote starting October 20. Approximately 500,000 Israeli citizens living abroad must go to Israel to vote unless they fall under these exceptions.

Electoral System Overview

For this election, voters will have a choice between 38 candidate lists. Legislative elections in Israel typically take place on a Tuesday during the Hebrew month of Heshvan, which corresponds to October or November, and are held on a holiday. At polling stations, voters choose a ballot bearing the name and identification letters of their preferred electoral list, printed in Hebrew and sometimes also in Arabic. Each voter selects a single list, voting for the entire slate of candidates without the possibility of splitting the vote.

Proportional Representation Rules

In Israel, unlike many other Western democracies, there are no geographically defined electoral districts, and members of the Knesset are elected by a single national universal suffrage. The 120 seats are proportionally distributed according to the results obtained by each of the lists at the national level, provided they receive enough votes. To be represented in Parliament, a list must reach a minimum percentage of the votes cast, known as the "electoral threshold," which has been set at 3.25 percent since 2015. Only lists crossing this threshold can obtain seats in the Knesset, receiving at least four seats.

Government Formation Process

Seats are distributed by adding up the votes received by qualified lists and dividing the total by 120 to obtain an "initial electoral quota." This provides a first estimate of the number of votes needed to win a seat. The Bader-Ofer method is then applied to distribute the seats among the qualified lists.

Post-Election Procedures

In the seven days following the official proclamation of the results, the Israeli president must designate a member of the Knesset, after consultation with parliamentary groups, who is considered capable of gathering sufficient parliamentary support to form a government. This person has twenty-eight days to negotiate the formation of a government, a period that the president can extend by fourteen days. If a government is formed, it must be submitted to a confidence vote before the Knesset.

Contingency Plans for Government Formation

If the first person designated fails to form a government or obtain the confidence of the Knesset, the president can assign this task to another person within three days. If this second attempt fails, the head of state turns to the Knesset. The members of parliament then have twenty-one days to find a candidate capable of obtaining the support of the absolute majority of the Parliament, that is, 61 votes. If a candidate is designated, he or she has fourteen days to form a government. In case of a new failure, or if no candidate is designated by the Knesset within the allotted time, the Parliament is dissolved and new elections must be organized within ninety days. In the meantime, the outgoing government remains in office until the successor takes office.

Political Concerns and Shifts

Ya'ir Golan, a former military officer and a prominent figure in the Israeli opposition, has warned that if Benjamin Netanyahu wins the elections, there will be "no future for us" in Israel. Netanyahu has expressed concerns about the vote of expatriates. Meanwhile, some right-wing kibbutzim have shown a shift towards more nationalist positions, with one report stating that "the Palestinians hate us and we hate them."