On Wednesday, November 20th, Benny Gantz declared to President Reuven Rivlin that he was not able to form a coalition in the time he was given, throwing Israel into another 21 days of uncertainty and questions about when there will be a government or if there will be a third election. Even Israelis, it seems, don't quite understand how the system of forming a government works. Here's a quick summary of the process and the possible paths the Knesset could take:
Step 1: Elections
Elections in Israel work slightly differently than in the US. Rather than voting for a candidate, Israelis vote for a party. Each party submits a list of candidates (some give a full 120, but most give a shorter list based on past voting trends). After Israelis cast their vote (on a national holiday, as voting day is), the percentage of votes a party receives corresponds to a number of seats in the Knesset, filled my the people on the party list.
Step 2: Coalition
After the election results are official, the president gives the mandate to form a coalition to the party leader who is most likely to be able to drum up a majority. To have a coalition--and therefore, a functioning government-- a member of Knesset must create a grouping of parties that add up to at least 61 votes. This is usually the party leader of the party with the most seats in the new Knesset, but it can be anyone. The only exception is in a minority government, where an MK can build a coalition of less than 61 seats if a party (historically, the Joint Arab List) promises to vote on the side of this coalition from outside.
The reason we're in this situation is because Netanyahu couldn't achieve this in the 28 days he was given. After this, here are the steps that can be taken:
Step 3a: Extension
If the first person to be given the mandate is unsuccessful after 4 weeks, they can request a 14-day extension. Netanyahu used this after the April election, but not after September's.
Step 3b: A New Mandate
If the first person in line is unsuccessful (either with or without an extension), the president can give the mandate to another party leader with a good change at forming a coalition. The same process goes as in Step 2.
Step 4: A Free-for-All
If two leaders cannot form a coalition, the President gives the mandate to the Knesset as a whole. This election is the first time this has ever happened. In this case, the Knesset has 21 days for some MK (it could be a party leader, someone who's already tried, or any other Member of Knesset that wants to try) to gain 61 signatures toward his name. If someone gets 61 signatures, they are then tasked with building a coalition.
Step 5: New Elections
If this 21-day period fails, then Israel would be launched into a third election this year, likely in March 2020.
We'll see what happens this time around! Stay updated on the latest Israeli election content, and check back for more news about Israel in this historic time!
