Note: This election will be the fifth in four years. The first two elections in 2019 were inconclusive, as no party was able to establish a majority. The third resulted in a unity government which collapsed 9 months later. The fourth coalition lasted a year, with the bill being passed to dissolve the Knesset on June 29, 2022.¹ 

At Stake in this Election:        

• 120 seats in the Israeli Knesset 

Government Structure: 

• Chief of State: President Isaac HERZOG 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Yair LAPID 

• Assembly: Unicameral Parliament with a 120-seat Knesset 

Electoral System: 

• The President of Israel is elected by an absolute majority in the Knesset, by secret ballot. If no candidate receives an absolute majority of votes in the first or second round of voting, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated in each subsequent round, if needed until only two remain. They are elected to a single seven-year term. 

• The Prime Minister is generally the leader of the largest party in the Knesset. They are nominated by the President. They then have to build a coalition and are confirmed by the Knesset.  

• The 120 seats in the Knesset are elected by closed list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. They serve four-year terms. 

Main Parties in this Election:  

• Hadash-Ta'al 

• Leader: Ayman ODEH 

• Seats won in previous election: 5 

• The Jewish Home 

• Leader: Ayelet SHAKED 

• Seats won in previous election: 4 

• Israeli Labor Party 

• Leader: Merav MICHAELI 

• Seats won in previous election: 7 

• Likud 

• Leader: Benjamin NETANYAHU 

• Seats won in previous election: 29 

• Meretz 

• Leader: Zehava GAL-ON 

• Seats won in previous election: 6 

• National Unity Party 

• Leader: Benny GANTZ 

• Seats won in previous election: 15 

• Religious Zionist Party 

• Leader: Bezalel SMOTRICH 

• Seats won in previous election: 6 

• Shas  

• Leader: Aryeh DERI 

• Seats won in previous election: 9 

• United Torah Judaism 

• Leader: Yitzhak GOLDKNOPF 

• Seats won in previous election: N/A 

• Yesh Atid 

• Leader: Yair LAPID 

• Seats won in previous election: 17 

• Yisrael Beiteinu 

• Leader: Avigdor LIEBERMAN 

• Seats won in previous election: 7 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 8,914,885 (2022 est.)² 

• Registered Voters: 6,578,084 (2021)³ 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 4,314,010 (2022 est.)⁴ 

• Is Israel a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 Jul 1980)⁵ 

• Has Israel ratified CEDAW: Yes (03 Oct 1991)⁶ 

• Gender Quota: None 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 36 out of 120 (30%)⁷ 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: Rank 22 at 0.919 (2022)⁸ 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A 

Disability Data: 

• Is Israel a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)⁹ 

• Has Israel ratified CRPD: Yes (28 Sept 2012)¹⁰ 

• Population with a disability: 1,337,233 (2022 est.)

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Israel: No 

 

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/20/world/middleeast/israel-election-government-collapse.html

2. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/israel/#people-and-society 

3. https://www.idea.int/data-tools/country-view/144/40

4. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/israel/#people-and-society 

5. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en

6. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en

7. https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=9&year=2022 

8. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/ISR 

9. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en

10. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en