- What is "the
Government"?
It is important that we clarify
our terms. The Government is the executive authority of
the State of Israel. It is composed of the Prime Minister
and other Ministers. Although the Prime Minister appoints
the Ministers, it is the Knesset, which is the Parliament
of Israel, that must endorse their appointment. The number
of members of the Government, including the Prime Minister,
cannot be greater than 24, nor fewer than eight [amended
from 18 in 1999].
- "At least half
of the Ministers will be Members of Knesset"
Ministers do not have to be members of the Knesset
to belong to the Cabinet, but it is important for the
Prime Minister to keep a majority in the Knesset, from
the outset. For example, if the Knesset rejected the Prime
Minister's proposal regarding the composition of the Government,
this would be deemed an expression by the Knesset of no-confidence
in the Prime Minister, whereupon new elections would be
held.
- Help! When there
is an election, who is elected?
The Prime Minister is appointed by virtue of having
been elected in general, countrywide, direct, equal, and
secret elections, as prescribed by the Election of the
Knesset and the Prime Minister Law. So, too, are Knesset
members. This is where it gets confusing. The law states:
Whenever elections for the Knesset are held, elections
for the Prime Minister will be held concurrently, except
in the case when Knesset elections are repeated as a result
of an appeal of the election returns. In cases specified
in this Basic Law, separate elections will be held for
the Prime Minister (hereinafter -"special elections").
The elections on February 6th 2001 are considered "Special
Elections".
- Who Can Vote?
Anyone eligible to vote in Knesset elections will be
eligible to vote for Prime Minister (citizens in the country
over age 18, or on registered official service abroad).
- How long is a term
of office?
The law states: The term of office of the Prime Minister
and the other ministers will be the same as the term of
office of the Knesset that is elected concurrently, and
in the case of special elections, for the term of office
of the Knesset serving at that time, unless otherwise
stipulated in this Basic Law.
With the special elections taking place on February
6th 2001, the Prime Minister will only serve until the
end of the 15th Knesset’s term i.e. until 2003. The Knesset
could, of course, disband itself beforehand - in which
case the Prime Minister would have to stand for re-election.
- Who Can Be Prime
Minister?
These rules have been crucial to the elections of 2001
and influenced Barak’s decision to resign. A candidate
can be:
(a) Any person who meets the following qualifications
may be a candidate for Prime Minister:
(1) He/She must be eligible for Knesset candidacy and
at least thirty years of age on the date of presentation
of his/her candidacy; Now this is the small print of the
law that is important. The law reads:
If the elections for the Prime Minister are held concurrently
with the elections to the Knesset, he/she must head a
list of candidates to that Knesset;
(3) If special elections are being held, he/she must
be a member of the Knesset
NB: this provision was amended in December 2000 to enable
non-Knesset members to stand for the premiership, specifically:
Binyamin Netanyahu.
(b) A person who has served continuously as Prime Minister
for seven years may not be a candidate in prime ministerial
elections held immediately thereafter.
-
Who Has The Right to Nominate a Candidate?
The following may nominate a candidate for Prime Minister:
(4) In special elections, the following may nominate
a candidate: a faction or factions in the Knesset, provided
that the number of members of the faction or the total
number of members of the factions is not fewer than ten;
or fifty thousand eligible voters.
However, in General Elections:
(1) A faction in the outgoing Knesset, provided that
it has no fewer than ten members and has submitted a list
of candidates for the Knesset; (2) Several factions in
the outgoing Knesset, provided that the total number of
members therein is not fewer than ten and that they have
submitted a list or lists of candidates for the Knesset;
(3) Fifty thousand eligible voters.
- How is the Prime
Minister elected?
The law here is specific:
(a) The person elected as Prime Minister will be the
candidate who receives more than half of the valid votes
.
(b) If no candidate receives the number of votes specified
in Subsection (a), the elections will be repeated on the
first Tuesday after two weeks later.
(c) In the repeat elections, the two candidates who
received the most valid votes in the first elections and
are members of the Knesset will stand for election; the
candidate who receives more votes in the repeat elections
will be elected.
(d) If one of the candidates dies before the repeat
elections are held, or if who nominated him/her may nominate
a candidate to replace him/her no later that 96 hours
before the elections. If a candidate in the repeated elections
resigns, he/she will be replaced by the candidate who,
in addition to being a Member of the Knesset, received
in the first elections the highest number of valid votes
among the candidates other than the candidate who has
resigned.
The elections will be conducted by voting for or against
him/her, and he/she will be elected if the number of valid
votes for him/her is greater than the number of valid
votes against him/her.
- ?What Is the Date
of Special Elections?
Here the law is specific:
(a) If there is a cause under this Basic Law for holding
special elections, the elections will be held on the last
Tuesday before the end of sixty days from the date on
which the cause for holding the elections arose.
(b) If there is cause under this Basic Law for holding
special elections, and the date for said elections falls
one year or less before the date of the next Knesset elections
according to Section 9 of the Basic Law; The Knesset,
the Knesset elections will be advanced, and the elections
for the Knesset and for the prime Minister will be held
on the date on which the special elections should have
been held.
-
What is the connection between
this law and Barak’s decision to resign?
Having realized that he had lost his majority coalition
in the Knesset in summer 2000 and not being able to establish
another, in late November Ehud Barak faced a certain vote
of no confidence in his premiership. To avoid this, he
joined his support to the preliminary reading of a bill
to dissolve the Knesset and declared a general election
for the Knesset and the Premiership, to be held May 20th
2001. This is where the drama starts.
The following week, the polls showed Netanyahu leading
by 20%. Barak was doomed to lose a general and premiership
election if forced to challenge his old rival for the
position of Prime Minister, rather than the current Likud
leader, Ariel Sharon.
It nevertheless came as a surprise, when Barak resigned
the premiership with the sole purpose of forcing only
special elections within 60 days, and knowing that he
stood a chance of having the Knesset dissolution bill
readings defeated at its subsequent readings. The special
elections law demanded the Prime Ministerial candidate
be a member of the Knesset; since Netanyhu had resigned
his Knesset seat after his defeat in 1999, he was therefore
effectively excluded from the race for Prime Minister.
Fearing a backlash, Barak and his supporters introduced
what was popularly called “the Bibi law”. This law allowed
any citizen, backed by a party of ten members or more,
to stand for Prime Minister, leaving Barak once again
facing Netanyahu. However, the saga took another twist.
On the day the “Bibi law” was to be passed in the Knesset,
Netanyahu declared his opposition to standing for the
premiership without general elections and encouraged his
supporters to do likewise. It got even more confusing:
when the law was passed, with Labor Party support, he
announced that he would withdraw his candidacy. So, although
the law allowed Netanyahu to stand as a candidate for
Prime Minister, it effectively caused his withdrawal from
the race.
- What is an Expression
of No-Confidence?
The Knesset may, by vote of a majority of its members,
i.e. sixty one members, express no-confidence in the Prime
Minister. An expression of no-confidence by the Knesset
in the Prime Minister is considered a decision by the
Knesset to dissolve itself before the end of its term
of office.
If no budget law is passed within three months after
the beginning of the fiscal year, the expiration of that
period will also be considered a decision by the Knesset
to dissolve itself before the end of its term of office.
This means that if the new Prime Minister cannot form
a government, or if his government cannot pass a state
budget by March 31st 2001, the Knesset will be dissolved.
- In late 2000, Barak
threatened to dissolve the Knesset, how does that work?
The answer is simple, the law allows him. If the Prime
Minister realizes that a majority in the Knesset is opposed
to the Government, and that, consequently, the Government
cannot function properly, he/she may, with the consent
of the President of the State, dissolve the Knesset, which
will be deemed a decision by the Knesset to dissolve itself
before the end of its term of office, and new elections
for the Knesset and for the Prime Minister will be held
90 days later.
- What does the law
say about early Elections?
If the Knesset has expressed no-confidence in the Prime
Minister, elections for the Knesset and the Prime Minister
(or just for the premiership) are held ninety days (or
sixty) days later. If no budget law has been passed by
31st March of the fiscal year, elections for the Knesset
and the Prime Minister are held ninety days later.
- Where does Shimon
Peres come into this?
Here again, opinion polls were playing an important role
in the election race. Polls were showing that Peres could
defeat Sharon, whereas Barak would be ousted. Peres sought
to run as a candidate and sought the backing of Meretz.
At the last minute, Meretz pulled out, fearing that a
split in the left vote would allow Sharon to win.