Coalition Chairman David Amsalem (Likud) on Monday expressed support for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's suggestion to lower the electoral threshold from 3.25% to 2.75%.
The threshold was raised from 2% prior to the 2015 elections.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said, "I’m putting on the table the option of reducing the electoral threshold by half a percent. But it would have to be by unanimous agreement. Without that kind of consensus, we won’t push the matter."
In an interview with Reshet Bet, Amsalem explained, "The nationalist camp lost nearly 100,000 votes in the previous elections, and I think we need to correct that situation."
Regarding the legitimacy of changing the electoral threshold to match political concerns, Amsalem said, "It's a legitimate consideration, and if the only consideration was political, we would try to lower the threshold even more."
"Elections need to allow the public to express their wishes. The most correct thing for the State of Israel is that every person's voice should be expressed, and that's the guiding principle. But then you have the issue of governance, how many parties you want in the Knesset, and you play with it."