No Party Earns a Majority in Israel’s Election for Prime Minister
No one party in Israel managed to earn enough votes to secure a majority in parliament in Israel’s fourth election in two years.
Accoridng to CBN News, final tallies of the votes showed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party won 52 seats and the opposing party, the Blue and White party, group won 57 seats.
A winning party needs 61 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament or Knesset.
Because of the deadlock, the country could be poised to hold a fifth election later this year.
The two parties will now work to try to gain more seats by reaching out to fringe parties for support.
According to CBN News, the right-wing Yamuna party and the Arab Islamist Ra’am party are two smaller groups with seats that could give one of the main parties a majority in parliament.
Neither small group has made a firm commitment to Netanyahu’s or the Blue and White party.
Until a majority coalition is formed or until the fifth election, a caretaker government assumes power.
According to the Associated Press, the previous administration becomes the caretaker government. In that role, the government is not permitted to make any substantial policy changes.
The final election results will be presented to President Reuven Rivlin, who will select which party will have the best chance of forming a majority coalition. Once selected, the party has up to six weeks to gain a 61-seat majority in the Knesset.
If the party fails to form a majority coalition, a majority of lawmakers can offer their support to another prime minister candidate. That candidate would then have two weeks to form a coalition in parliament. If no majority coalition is formed in either case, the country will head to another election, NPR reports.
Israel’s parliament has been deadlocked since December 2018, and the country has not passed an updated national budget since March 2018.
Netanyahu was first elected as prime minister in 2009. He is also facing charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes. He has denied the charges in the ongoing trial.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Amir Levy/Stringer
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
