Early legislative elections were held in Israel on 9 April 2019 to elect the 120 members of the 21st Knesset. Elections had been due in November 2019, but were brought forward following a dispute between members of the current government over a bill on national service for the ultra-Orthodox population, as well as impending corruption charges against incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Netanyahu's Likud tied with Blue and White alliance of Benny Gantz, both winning 35 seats. The balance of power was held by smaller parties, with a majority being right-wing and religious parties that had previously sat in coalition with Likud, which would have allowed Netanyahu to form the next government.
Due to continuation of the disagreements over the national service of the ultra-Orthodox, a snap election was called and was held on 17 September 2019.
Background.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman had opposed a draft law (supported by the ultra-Orthodox parties) which would allow full-time Torah students exemptions from serving in the IDF. Meretz and Yesh Atid submitted a proposal on 12 March 2018 seeking the dissolution of the Knesset. Early elections were averted at that point in time.
Lieberman would eventually leave the government over the cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza. This leaves the governing coalition with 61 seats (out of 120 in total). The Jewish Home announced on 16 November 2018 that it would leave the government, as Naftali Bennett (the head of the party) was not given Lieberman's former Defense Ministry post. Reports were that Netanyahu would not be giving the post to Bennett and was to meet with other coalition leaders on 18 November to determine a date for early election. However, after further discussion, Bennett decided to stay on as education minister, narrowly avoiding the collapse of the Netanyahu government again. However, continued dysfunction over various issues, including military service for the ultra-Orthodox, caused parliament to dissolve and early elections to be called for 9 April 2019. Had early elections not been called, the regularly-scheduled elections would have taken place seven months later, on 5 November 2019.
Electoral system.
The 120 seats in the Knesset are elected by closed list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. The electoral threshold for the election is 3.25%. In most cases, this implies a minimum party size of four seats, but on some occasions, a party can end up with three.
While election day was on 9 April 2019, polls opened in embassies around the world on 28 March.
Surplus-vote agreements.
Two party lists can sign an agreement that allows them to compete for leftover seats as though they are running together on the same list. The Bader–Ofer method disproportionately favors larger lists, meaning that such an alliance is more likely to receive leftover seats than both of its comprising lists would be individually. If the alliance receives leftover seats, the Bader–Ofer calculation is then applied privately, to determine how the seats are divided among the two allied lists. The following agreements were signed by parties prior to the election:
Parliament factions.
The table below lists the parliamentary factions represented in the 20th Knesset.
Campaign.
Some parties, like Likud, Labor, the Jewish Home, Zehut and Meretz, have systems in which the leadership and most candidates on their lists are elected in primary elections.
Blue and White.
Benny Gantz's Israel Resilience Party and Moshe Ya'alon's Telem unveiled its party slate on 19 February 2019. Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party unveiled its party slate on 18 February 2019. On 21 February 2019, the three parties agreed to run on a united list named Blue and White.
Union of Right-Wing Parties.
The Jewish Home held its leadership primaries on 27 April 2017; Naftali Bennett won with 80.3% of the vote, Yonatan Branski received 12.2% and Yitzhak Zagha received 7.47%. In the aftermath of the formation of the New Right and Bennett's leaving, the Jewish Home cancelled its primaries. Rafi Peretz was elected leader of the Jewish Home on 4 February.
The Tkuma party held its leadership primaries on 14 January 2019; Bezalel Smotrich defeated Uri Ariel.
On 14 February 2019, Jewish Home agreed to run on a joint list with the Tkuma party. Jewish Home leader Rafi Peretz headed the joint list, with Tkuma chair Bezalel Smotrich as the number two. On 20 February 2019, they agreed to include Otzma Yehudit in their list, titled the Union of Right-Wing Parties. The inclusion of Otzma Yehudit prompted strong criticism.
Labor.
The Labor Party held its leadership primaries on 10 July 2017; Avi Gabbay defeated Amir Peretz in the run-off, with Isaac Herzog being defeated during the first round of voting. The party held primaries on 11 February 2019 to choose members for its slate.
Likud.
The Likud leadership primary election was originally scheduled for 23 February 2016 following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposal, and later cancelled by a party court on the basis that the Likud constitution did not require a vote when there was only one candidate. Likud held the primary for the rest of its list on 5 February 2019, which resulted in several of Netanyahu's rivals winning senior spots. Voting irregularities surfaced in the primary results. In some cases, specific candidates received more votes in some locales than the total number of ballots cast in those locales. The Likud party investigated the matter. In the final results, Knesset speaker Yuli Edelstein came in first place, followed by Yisrael Katz, Gilad Erdan, Gideon Sa'ar and Miri Regev.
On 28 February 2019, the Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, announced his intent to indict Prime Minister Netanyahu on three charges which include bribery, fraud and breach of trust. These include trading legislation for favorable press coverage.
Meretz.
Meretz held its leadership primaries on 22 March 2018; Tamar Zandberg won with 71% of the vote, Avi Buskila received 29%. Meretz held its primary on 14 February 2019.
Yisrael Beiteinu.
Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu released its party slate on 19 February 2019.
Zehut.
The Zehut party held Israel's first open primaries on 29 January 2019, in which all Israeli voters (including those living abroad) were able to vote via a secure online website. About 12,000 people voted in these primaries, which determined the order of the candidates who won in the party's internal primaries in September 2017.
Opinion polls.
These graphs show the polling trends from the time Knesset candidate lists were finalized on 21 February, until Friday before election day (5 April).
If more than one poll was conducted on the same day, the graphs show the average of the polls for that date.
Blocs.
Note: Political blocs do not necessarily determine the exact make-up of post-election coalitions.
Allegations of misconduct.
The Hadash–Ta'al alliance filed a complaint requesting the removal of 1,200 concealed cameras in polling places in Arab communities. A judge overseeing the election ordered the concealed equipment removed. The company that set up the cameras, Kaizler Inbar, bragged about its role in social media posts.
Fake IDs were used in Herzliya and some voting slips for Blue &amp; White, Meretz, Likud, Zehut and Yisrael Beiteinu disappeared in Petah Tikva.
Shas was criticized for giving out candles at polling stations.
Aftermath.
Leader of Blue and White faction Benny Gantz conceded, paving the way for incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to start talks with other parties to form a governing coalition. On 15 and 16 April, leaders of all the parties who won seats in the Knesset met with President Reuven Rivlin to recommend a designated person to form a government. Netanyahu received recommendations from leaders representing 65 seats in the Knesset, whereas Gantz received recommendations from leaders representing only 45 seats in the Knesset. Leaders of the two Arab parties, representing 10 seats in the Knesset, declined to make any recommendation. Based on the recommendations he received, Rivlin designated Netanyahu to form the next governing coalition. After a month of negotiations, Netanyahu's failure to form a government led to a 74 to 45 vote in the Knesset in favour of dispersing just after midnight on 29 May 2019. The new election was scheduled for 17 September 2019.
Notes.
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References.
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