Election Profile:

Flag of Israel Source for election date

At stake in this election:

  • 120 seats in the Parliament (Knesset)

Description of government structure:

  • Chief of State: President Shimon PERES
  • Head of Government: Prime Minister Ehud OLMERT
  • Assembly: Israel has a unicameral Parliament (Knesset) with 120 seats.

Description of electoral system:

  • The President is elected by the Knesset to serve a 1-year term.
  • Prime Minister is elected to serve a 1-year term.
  • In the Parliament (Knesset) 120 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

  • Party: Kadima
    Leader: Tzipora LIVNI
    Seats won in this election: 28
    Seats won in last election: 29
  • Party: Likud
    Leader: Benjamin NETANYAHU
    Seats won in this election: 27
    Seats won in last election: 12
  • Party: Labor Party / Mifleget HaAvoda HaYisraelit***
    Leader: Ehud BARAK
    Seats won in this election: 13
    Seats won in last election: 19
  • Party: Shas
    Leader: Eliyahu YISHAI
    Seats won in this election: 11
    Seats won in last election: 12
  • Party: Israel Our Home / Yisrael Beiteinu
    Leader: Avigdor LIEBERMAN
    Seats won in this election: 15
    Seats won in last election: 11
  • Alliance: National Union (NU) / HaIhud HaLeumi******
    Leader: Benyamin ELON
    Seats won in this election: 4
    Seats won in last election: 9
  • Party: United Torah Judaism / Yahadut HaTorah HaMeukhedet (UTJ)
    Leader: Yaakov LITZMAN
    Seats won in this election: 5
    Seats won in last election: 6
  • Party: Meretz - New Movement
    Leader: Haim ORON
    Seats won in this election: 3
    Seats won in last election: 5
  • Party: United Arab List- Arab Renewal (UAL) / Reshima Aravit Meuhedet- Tnu'a Aravit LeHithadshut (Ra'am-Ta'al)*********
    Leader: Ibrahim SARSUR
    Seats won in this election: 4
    Seats won in last election: 4
  • Party: National Democratic Assembly / Brit Le'umit Demokratit (Balad)
    Leader: Azmi BISHARA
    Seats won in this election: 3
    Seats won in last election: 3
  • Party: Democratic Front for Peace and Equality / haĦazit haDemokratit leShalom ulShivyon (Hadash)
    Leader: Muhammad BARAKEH
    Seats won in this election: 4
    Seats won in last election: 3
  • Party: Jewish Home / HaBayit HaYehudi************
    Leader: Daniel KERSHKOVITZ
    Seats won in this election: 3
    Seats won in last election: N/A
  • Party: Pensioners of Israel to the Knesset / Gimla'ey Yisrael LaKnesset (Gil)
    Leader: Rafael "Rafi" EITAN
    Seats won in this election: 0
    Seats won in last election: 7

*** In 2006, the Labor Party ran on a joint ticket with Meimad. The figures for seats won in 2006, includes votes and seats won by Meimad
****** In 2006 National Union ran on a joint ticket with the National Religious Party (NRP). Figures for seats and votes won reflect the combined totals won by both parties. The NRP has since disbanded and for the 2009 election, the National Union alliance includes a number of small, conservative political parties.
********* United Arab List ran on a joint ticket in 2006 with Ta'al, another Arab party.
************ Jewish Home is a new party formed by the merger of the National Religious Party and Tkuma in November 2008.

Last Parliamentary election:

  • The last elections were held on March 28, 2006. The Kadima party won the largest bloc of seats in 2006, 29 in all. It formed a governing coalition with Labor, Shas and Gil, which controlled a combined total of 67 seats.

Population and number of registered voters:

  • Population: 7,112,359 (July 2008 This figure is an estimate, which includes about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank, about 20,000 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem )
  • Registered Voters: 5,278,985 (February 2009 )

Last Updated on 10/30/2008