Knesset Dispersed, Next Elections to Be Held November 1

The 24th Knesset voted 92-0 on Thursday morning to disband itself and to hold the next election on November 1. It will be the fifth Knesset election in the past three and a half years. According the coalition agreement signed last June, Yesh Atid head MK Yair Lapid is now Prime Minister.

The Knesset voted 92-0 on Thursday morning to disband itself (Photo: Knesset)

The Knesset plenum rejected the proposal submitted by the far-right opposition factions, according to which the election would have been on October 25. The haredi Orthodox parties and racist Religious Zionism preferred this date since it fell during the yeshiva fall holiday recess, allowing their electorate to mobilize on Election Day. However left opposition Joint List voted with the coalition for the November date.

A survey by the Midgam polling agency published by Israeli media showed that Likud leads with 34 seats. Next is Yesh Atid, which would get 20. After that, all parties are currently in the single digits: Blue and White and Religious Zionism receive nine each; the Haredi Shas and United Torah Judaism – eight and seven, respectively; the Joint List head by Hadash MK Ayman Odeh would get six; Labor and Yisrael Beitenu would both get five mandates; and Islamist Ra’am (United Arab List), Meretz and New Hope are all teetering on the threshold of four seats. The pro-Lapid bloc thus is projected to win a total of 56 seats, while the pro-Netanyahu, excluding the opposition Joint List, reaches 58 mandates.

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=30408