Elections in Israel 1999 - Background

The electoral system in Israel stipulates the following schedule in the wake of the elections for the 15th Knesset and the Prime Minister which took place on Monday, May 17:

- Publication of Official Results - by Tuesday, May 25, 1999
(8 days after elections).
Although the results have already been tabulated, the law provides for this 8 day period, to allow for appeals and recounts.

- Convening of 15th Knesset - June 7, 1999 (second Monday after publication of official results).
The Knesset will be convened by President Ezer Weizman and chaired by the most veteran MK, Mr. Shimon Peres.

- Presentation of Government for Knesset Approval - no later than 45 days after publication of official results.
The composition of the Government is the result of coalition negotiations carried out in this 45 day period between the Prime Minister elect and the various parties of the coalition.

The Formation of a Government

Regarding the formation of a Government, the law stipulates the following:

- Upon publication of the official results of the elections for prime minister, the candidate who receives more than half of the valid votes becomes the Prime Minister elect.

- Within 45 days of the publication of the election results the Prime Minister elect will appear before the Knesset, present the Ministers of the Government, announce the division of tasks and the guiding principles of the Government's policies, and the Prime Minister and the Ministers will begin their service.

- Should the Government fail to gain Knesset approval within the specified 45 days, special elections (for Prime Minister alone) must be held within 60 days.

- As soon as possible after that the Prime Minister and the Ministers will make their declarations of allegiance before the Knesset.

The following is the text of the declaration of allegiance of the Prime Minister:

"I (name) as Prime Minister undertake to uphold the State of Israel and its laws, to faithfully fulfil my role as the Prime Minister and to comply with the decisions of the Knesset."

The following is the text of the declaration of allegiance of the Ministers:

"I (name) as a member of the Government, undertake to uphold the State of Israel and its laws, to faithfully fulfil my role as a member of the Government, and to comply with the decisions of the Knesset."

- The number of ministers, including the prime minister, may not exceed 18, nor be less than eight.

- At least half of the ministers must be Knesset members, but all must be eligible for Knesset membership.

- A person convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude, prior to the passage of ten years from the day he completed his period of punishment, may not be appointed as a Minister.

- Deputy ministers may be appointed, up to a total of six, and must be Knesset members.

The Outgoing Government

At the Cabinet meeting on May 30, 1999, Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined a number of principles, according to which the outgoing government will perform its duties during the coming weeks:

i) In accordance with Basic Law: The Government, the current government maintains full authority until the next government takes office, following its presentation to the Knesset.

ii) At the same time, the outgoing government will refrain, as much as possible, from making decisions not required during the normal course of events. For instance, the outgoing government will refrain from making any decisions with budgetary implications or with policy dimensions that could change upon the formation of the new government, and from making new appointments. This is the general rule, although certain exceptions may occur.

iii) Meetings of the Cabinet and of inter-ministerial committees will continue to be held, but only as necessary.

iv) The Prime Minister asked Cabinet ministers to arrange for the orderly and responsible transition of their ministries, once the composition of the new government is known.

The New Knesset

Regarding the convening of the new Knesset, the law stipulates the following:

- The Knesset shall convene for its first meeting on Monday in the second week following the week in which the election results are published, at four o'clock in the afternoon.

- The Knesset shall be opened by the President of the State or, in his absence, by the oldest Knesset member present; if the President of the State opens the Knesset, he shall hand over the chairmanship of the meeting to the oldest Knesset member present.

- When the oldest Knesset member has opened the first meeting of the Knesset or taken over the chairmanship thereof, he shall make his declaration of allegiance as a Knesset member; the declaration shall read as follows: "I pledge myself to bear allegiance to the State of Israel and faithfully to discharge my mandate in the Knesset."

After his own declaration of allegiance, he shall read the text once more to the members of the Knesset, and each of them in turn shall rise and declare: "I pledge myself".

- The Knesset will then elect from among its members a Speaker and Deputy-Speaker(s), and members of its various committees, as proscribed by the Law and by the Procedures of the Knesset.