Elections in Israel March 2006

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
8 Dec 2005

Elections to the 17th Knesset are expected to be held on March 28, 2006
following the disbandment of the 16th Knesset by presidential decree.

Disbandment of the 16th Knesset

On Thursday, December 8, 2005, the the order for the disbandment of the
Knesset, signed by President Moshe Katsav, was published in the official
government gazette. According to the Basic Law: The Government (2001), the
government headed by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is now considered a
transitional or caretaker government.

Over the coming 21 days - until December 29, when the order for the
disbandment of the Knesset will otherwise go into effect - a coalition of 61
MKs has the right to ask the president to entrust one of them with the task
of forming a new government. If no government is formed in the stipulated
time, the Knesset will be deemed to have dispersed prior to the completion
of its period of service, and elections to the Knesset will be held on the
last Tuesday before the end of 90 days, namely on March 28, 2006.

Prime Minister Sharon may now appoint ministers to ministries vacated by
Labor's resignation from the government, requiring only cabinet, not
Knesset, approval for each appointment.

The Election Process: Background

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.

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.

The number and order of members entering the new Knesset for each party
corresponds to its list of candidates as presented for election. There are
no by-elections in Israel. Should an MK resign or pass away in the course of
the Knesset term, the next person on that party's list automatically
replaces him/her.

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:

negation of the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish
people;

negation of the democratic character of the State;

incitement to racism.

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.

Publication of election results

Election results are published in the official gazette eight days after the
elections. The first session of the new Knesset is held approximately two
weeks later and is opened by the President, who yields the chair to the
oldest member. The Knesset members declare their allegiance, and the speaker
of the Knesset and his deputies are elected.

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.

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.