Israelis go to the polls on Tuesday, October 27, to elect all 120 members of the Knesset. It is the first Israeli election since 1988 to take place on its originally scheduled date, after a long run of governments that collapsed before completing their terms. The Knesset formally dissolved on July 17, starting the countdown to a vote that will shape how the country handles security, the military draft and the economy.
How Israel’s voting system works
Israel uses nationwide proportional representation. Voters do not choose individual candidates; they pick a party list, and seats are divided according to each list’s share of valid votes.
- Threshold: a list needs at least 3.25 percent of valid votes, roughly four seats, to enter the Knesset.
- Surplus votes: parties can sign agreements to pool leftover votes, which can tip a final seat their way.
- Majority: a new government needs the confidence of at least 61 of the 120 members.
- In person only: Israel does not allow absentee ballots for ordinary voters, so citizens must vote at a polling station with valid ID.
No single party has ever won 61 seats on its own, which is why coalition-building after election day is often as important as the vote itself.
The main parties and leaders
- Likud, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the governing right-wing party.
- Beyachad (“Together”), a centrist list formed in April by merging the parties of former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.
- Yashar!, a new centre-left party led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
- The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, formed in 2024 from Labor and Meretz.
- Blue and White, Benny Gantz’s centrist party.
- Yisrael Beiteinu, Avigdor Lieberman’s secular nationalist party.
- Otzma Yehudit under Itamar Ben Gvir and Religious Zionism under Bezalel Smotrich on the hard right.
- Shas and United Torah Judaism, the two main ultra-Orthodox parties.
- Foundations of Israel, a centre-right list that grew out of the military reservists’ movement.
- Hadash–Ta’al, Ra’am and Balad, the Arab-led parties, now running on separate lists.
The issues defining the campaign
National security remains the dominant theme in the years since the October 7 attacks, including calls for a state commission of inquiry. Close behind are the military draft and exemptions for ultra-Orthodox students, the relationship between religion and state, the cost of living and housing, and the future of the government’s judicial overhaul plans.
The wider regional picture adds pressure. Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran on February 28, and the conflict that followed has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and raised energy prices worldwide.
What happens after election day
Once results are certified, the president consults party leaders and invites the candidate with the best chance of forming a coalition to try. Negotiations typically trade ministries and policy commitments for support. Until a new government wins a confidence vote, the outgoing cabinet continues as an interim government, and Israel’s High Court has ruled that such a government should exercise restraint, although that duty weakens when there is a pressing public interest in acting.
Why it matters
The arithmetic is tight. Small parties hovering around the threshold can decide whether a bloc reaches 61, and Arab-led parties running separately face a real risk of falling short. Watch turnout, threshold races and early statements from potential kingmakers. More analysis is available in our Politics section.