Explaining The Israeli Election: How It Works, and What To Look For As Results Start Coming In

[Valin]

Yid With A Lid:

Mar. 17 2015

 

In Israel the election is just one part of the political process, depending on the results as of tomorrow the politics truly begin. And even if Netanyahu's party Likud ends up 2-4 seats behind Herzog's Zionist Union party (which is what the final polls predicted). Bibi may still be the one asked by Israel's President Rivlin to form a government (BTW asking a party leader to form a government is the only real power held by the Israeli President).

 

In Israel voters do not vote directly for a Prime Minister, nor do they vote for a representative---remember it's a tiny country. Actually there were direct elections for the Prime Minister's in the 1980's but that was changed back to the original system when direct voting didn't produce governments that were more stable.

 

When voters went to the polls today they voted for a party list. The list was a docket of candidates in a particular ranking of importance set by the party leadership (first on the list was the party leader/Prime Minister candidate). Seats are awarded to each party that meets a minimum threshold of 3.25% of the total votes gets seats in Knesset (parliament). Seats are given out in the order they appear on the list. In previous elections the minimum threshold was 2%, so with the higher percentage necessary for seats many parties are running joint lists. However, because the percentage is still small many of the smaller parties gain seats and power in the Knesset, it also means that parties that do well in one election can disappear in the next.

 

(Snip)

 

But that's only part one. The other part of the equation one needs to watch is which other party gets what.

 

For the Americans who are reading this, do you remember all the deals that were made in the senate to pass Obamacare, like when Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson got all the extra benefits for his state to change his vote? Well folks, you ain't seen nutting yet!

 

In the next few weeks deals will be made for cabinet positions, policies, etc., all in the name of building a coalition of 61+ votes to lead Israel.

 

So using the list of parties below keep an eye on how much each of the parties below receive, because they will be the important ones in forming a coalition government.

 

 

(Snip)

[Cyber_Liberty]

That's a good score card to watch this with.I agree it will take weeks to settle out, but we'll know who's going to be the captain of the process by tomorrow.