Israeli General Election

A document summarizing the system and recent political trends of Israel's general elections, which elect 120 Knesset seats.

Israeli General Election

Overview

Israel's general election is the election that selects the 120 seats of the Knesset (크네세트), Israel's parliament. It adopts a single nationwide proportional representation system, so seats are allocated according to each party's share of the vote, and because of the electoral threshold and the practice of coalition government, election results have a major impact on the stability of the political system. In recent years, early elections have repeatedly occurred more often than scheduled elections, and since the 2022 election, war and the judicial reform debate have emerged as major political issues.

Key Details

Election System

Israel implements a proportional representation system that treats the entire country as a single electoral district. Voters vote for party lists rather than individual candidates, and parties receive seats according to the order of the candidate list they submitted in advance. Seat allocation uses the highest averages method known as the Bader-Ofer method, and surplus-vote agreements under certain conditions are also permitted. The electoral threshold is 3.25%, and parties that fail to exceed this threshold find it difficult to enter the Knesset. This system increases representation for various political, religious, and ethnic groups, but it causes seats to be fragmented, complicating coalition formation.

Government Formation

After a general election, the president consults with parties in the Knesset and designates a candidate for prime minister. The designated candidate must normally form a coalition within 28 days and obtain the Knesset's confidence, and the period may be extended in a limited manner if necessary. A government can be launched only when a coalition securing at least 61 seats, a majority, is formed. Because it is rare for a single party to secure a majority, coalition negotiations with small parties, policy concessions, and management of internal coalition conflicts have become core processes of Israeli politics.

Major Parties and Issues

Major parties include Likud, Yesh Atid, National Unity Party, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Religious Zionist Party, Otzma Yehudit, Labor Party, Hadash-Ta'al, and Ra'am. Election issues are diverse, including security and diplomacy, the economy and cost of living, judicial authority, religion-state relations, military service obligations, and the rights of Arab minority groups. In particular, the Palestinian issue, the Iranian threat, and the situation in the Gaza Strip and on the Lebanese border always act as important variables in election campaigns.

Election History and Characteristics

Israel held several general elections in a short period: April 2019, September 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. In the general election held on November 1, 2022, a right-wing and religious party bloc centered on Likud secured a majority, and Benjamin Netanyahu returned to the prime ministership. Israel's general elections are distinguished from other parliamentary systems by their party-list proportional representation, high political fragmentation, and coalition-centered operation. In addition, because election results can greatly change the direction of foreign and security policy, they attract high international interest.

Latest Trends

As of 2024–2025, Israel maintains the Knesset and government system formed by the 2022 general election, and the next scheduled general election is due by 2026. However, the possibility of early elections continues to be discussed due to the wartime situation, follow-up debates on judicial reform, conflicts within the coalition, and budget passage issues. After the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, political responsibility debates and security policy disputes over the war response grew, and in 2024 emergency coalition formation and personnel changes continued. In 2025, post-war investigations, expansion of military service obligations, economic recovery, and the Gaza ceasefire and hostage issue emerged as major issues. Public opinion polls observe changes in support for the two existing major camps and changes in the role of centrist and Arab parties, and the very possibility of forming a coalition is evaluated as a key variable in the general election.