Reuven Rivlin
Reuven RivlinFlash90

The center-left Yesh Atid party is working to ensure that Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will remain in his seat until a new president is elected, Israel Hayom reported.

The bill, which will be submitted Tuesday to the Knesset by MK Boaz Toporovsky (Yesh Atid), aims to avoid a situation in which Rivlin's responsibilities will be transferred to Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin (Likud).

"In order to prevent a lacuna in which the Knesset Speaker has the power to prevent a new president from beginning his term...it is proposed that as long as this is the situation, the outgoing President will continue to serve until a new president begins his term," the bill states.

Toporovsky added that the bill was not submitted for personal reasons: "It is not personal, but comes to prevent elected officials from making an embarrassment of the process of electing a president, taking control of his responsibilities, and misusing them against the opinion of the majority."

However, he added that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, "whose only government is extremist and extortionist, will do everything to remain stuck to his seat and avoid jail, even if that means harming the symbols of the State, such as the President and Israeli democracy."

Rivlin's term ends on July 9, and according to Israeli law, the election must be held between 30-90 days prior to the end of his term. Elections for the next president, which are always held by secret vote, are expected to be held at the end of May.