Next week, after receiving the official and final results of the elections for the 25th Knesset from Chairman of the Central Elections Committee Justice Yitzhak Amit, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will hold consultations at the President’s Residence with representatives of the factions in the Knesset, for the purpose of deciding which member of Knesset to assign the task of forming a government.
If needed, the President will consider an additional round of consultations.
The official election results will be published in the Official Gazette and presented to the President within eight days of election day, in accordance with Paragraph 11 of Basic Law: The Knesset.
Consequently, the Chairman of the Central Elections Committee will present the results to the President on 9 November 2022 (15 Cheshvan 5783). As per custom, the Director-General of the Office of the President will invite representatives of the factions elected to the 25th Knesset for consultations with the President at the President’s Residence, in accordance with the law. At the end of the round of consultations, the President will assign the task of forming a government to a member of Knesset.
Under the law, the President has seven days to hold consultations, make a decision, and grant the mandate to form a government to a member of Knesset; in this case, no later than November 16, 2022 (22 Cheshvan 5783). It is possible for the mandate to be granted before the expiry of this seven-day period.
From the moment that the President assigns the task of forming a government to a member of the Knesset, that member of Knesset will have, in accordance with Basic Law: The Government, twenty-eight days to form a new government. If an extension is required, the President has the authority to grant an extension of up to fourteen additional days in accordance with the law.
The consultation process required by law will be broadcast live from the President’s Residence. Exact coverage details and timetables will be communicated in the near future.
The expected timetable is as follows:
November 9, 2022: Final date for the official publication of the election results. The results of the elections shall be published in the Official Gazette within eight days of election day (Para. 11, Basic Law: The Knesset).
November 16, 2022: Final date to assign the task of forming a government. The President shall assign the task of forming a government to a member of Knesset after consulting the Knesset factions within seven days of the publication of the election results (Para. 7(a) of Basic Law: The Government).
After the President assigns the task of forming a government, he must inform the Speaker of the Knesset, who must inform the Knesset (Para. 13(a), Basic Law: The Government).
For the further timetable, according to Basic Law: The Government, the exact dates depend on the date on which the President assigns the task of forming a government.
1. According to Paragraph 8, the member of Knesset to whom the President assigns the task of forming a government has 28 days to form a government. The President is entitled to extend this period by an additional period of no more than 14 days (in total, no more than 42 days).
2. If the member of Knesset who has been assigned the task of forming a government is unable to do so within the allocated period, or if he informs the President that he cannot form a government, or if a government has been presented and the Knesset has rejected a request to express confidence in it, the President has two options and must take one of them within three days (Para. 9(a):
a. The President may assign the task of forming a government to another member of Knesset who has informed the President that he is willing to assume the task. The member of Knesset to whom the President assigns the task of forming a government (in the second round) will have 28 days to form a government, and this period cannot be extended (Para 9(c));
b. Alternatively, the President may inform the Speaker of the Knesset that he sees no possibility of arriving at the formation of a government.
3. The President is entitled to hold another round of consultations with members of the Knesset factions before choosing one of these options (Para. 9(b)).
If the President chooses to inform the Speaker of the Knesset that he sees no possibility of arriving at the formation of a government or that he has assigned the task of forming a government to a member of Knesset (in the second round), and this member is also unable to form a government or informs the President that he cannot form a government or the Knesset has rejected a request to express confidence in this government, a majority of members of the Knesset are entitled to request from the President, in writing, to assign the task of forming a government to a certain member of the Knesset, who has agreed to it in writing, within 21 days (Para 10(a)).
4. If such a request is submitted, the President must assign the task to the member of Knesset named in this request within two days (Para. 10b), and the member of Knesset to whom this task has been assigned will have 14 days to form a government (Para. 10(c)).
5. If no such request is submitted by a majority of members of Knesset, or if the nominated member of Knesset fails to forms a government (in the third round) or informs the President that he cannot form a government or if the Knesset rejects a request to express confidence in this government, the Knesset shall be deemed to have dissolved itself before the end of its term, and the elections to the Knesset shall take place within 90 days (Para. 11).
6. Once the member of the Knesset forms a government (in any round), he shall inform the President and the Speaker of the Knesset thereof, and a sitting shall be scheduled for the purpose of forming the government within seven days (Para. 13(b)).