Israeli President Reuven Rivlin today began receiving nominations for prime minister from representatives of all the parties elected to Israel’s 20th Knesset. After meeting with members of the Likud, Zionist Union, Joint List, Jewish Home, Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, Rivlin received 51 nominations for Likud leader and incumbent prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next governing coalition in the 120-seat Knesset. Zionist Union chief Isaac Herzog was in second place with the 24 votes of his party. Rivlin will meet with the remaining parties — Kulanu, Yesh Atid, Yisrael Beiteinu and Meretz — on Monday.
The President’s office notified new and returning members of Knesset this past Wednesday, a day after Israelis went to the ballots, of Rivlin’s intention to approach party heads, receive their recommendations, and establish the new government at the earliest possibility.
On Thursday, after the final absentee ballots were tallied, Likud emerged as the largest party in the new Knesset, securing 30 mandates. Rivlin will appoint the member of Knesset he believes is most likely to form a majority coalition of at least 61 out of 120 seats within the 42-day timespan mandated by law. Prime Minister Netanyahu is regarded as the most likely candidate for President Rivlin’s nomination, especially after Herzog’s announced on Wednesday that his party will remain in the opposition, calling it the “only realistic option.”
On Tuesday, while casting his ballot at a voting station in Jerusalem, Rivlin said elections day was an occasion, “to celebrate democracy, liberty, and independence,” adding:
Election Day is also a day of national and public soul-searching, when we examine what has been and decide how Israel will look in the future. We take responsibility for what’s spoiled, for what’s wrong, and seek to fix what we can. Through the simple act of slipping an envelope into a ballot box, we actively participate in shaping our Israel and declare that the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the social values of justice, fairness, and equality – all these are not just meaningless slogans.