How Israel Forms a Government: From 120 Knesset Seats to 61

WarBrief Live | October 27, 2026 | Explainers

Israelis are voting on October 27, 2026, for the 26th Knesset, but the ballot does not directly choose a prime minister. Voters choose a party list, the 120 seats are shared out in proportion to the votes won by lists that clear the electoral threshold, and only then does the work of building a coalition government begin. That second stage — consultations, a presidential mandate, coalition bargaining and a vote of confidence — is where Israel’s next government will actually be decided, and it can take weeks.

This explainer sets out how Israel’s coalition government is formed, step by step, so the results that follow polling day can be read for what they are: a seat count, not yet a government.

What do Israelis actually vote for?

Israelis vote for a party, not a person. Each party or electoral list puts forward a ranked list of candidates, and voters choose one list. The country is treated as a single constituency, with no geographic districts, which is why smaller parties representing religious, political and ethnic communities can win seats if they clear the threshold.

That design has a direct consequence for polling day. A party can finish first in votes and seats and still not govern, because governing requires a coalition. As the Israel Policy Forum explains, the question after the count is not only who won the most seats, but who can assemble enough partners to command the Knesset.

On October 27, most polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and were due to close at 10 p.m. local time, with voters already in line at closing time still allowed to vote. About 7.33 million people were eligible to vote, across 12,018 polling stations, according to figures from Israel’s Central Elections Committee reported on polling day.

How are 120 seats divided after the vote?

Seats are distributed broadly in proportion to the votes received by lists that cross the 3.25% threshold. Lists below that line win no seats, and their votes are excluded from the allocation among qualifying lists — a rule that can change the arithmetic for the blocs, because votes cast for a list that falls short do not transfer to a larger ally.

Parties can also sign surplus-vote agreements, under which their unused votes are combined for the purpose of allocating an additional seat. In a close contest, one such seat can strengthen a bloc’s negotiating position, which is why the final seat distribution matters more than the headline vote share.

Sixty-one is the magic number because the Knesset has 120 seats: 61 is the smallest outright majority. A coalition does not need 61 parties, or 61% of the vote — it needs parties whose seats together add up to at least 61, or enough support, including outside backing or abstentions, to win and survive a confidence vote. In practice, however, 61 seats behind a government is the benchmark for stability, since a government short of that number risks defeat on legislation, budgets or confidence motions.

By the numbers: Israel’s government-formation rules

Metric	Figure	Source
Knesset seats	120	CONFIRMED — Central Elections Committee figures reported on polling day; Israel Policy Forum
Seats for a majority	61	CONFIRMED — Israel Policy Forum; The Statesman
Electoral threshold	3.25% of valid votes	CONFIRMED — Israel Policy Forum; Indian Express
Eligible voters, October 27	About 7.33 million	CONFIRMED — Central Elections Committee figures reported on polling day
Polling stations	12,018	CONFIRMED — Central Elections Committee figures reported on polling day
First mandate	28 days, plus up to 14 days’ extension	CONFIRMED — Israel Policy Forum; The Statesman
Time past governments have taken to form	20 to 100 days	CONFIRMED — Israel Democracy Institute, via election coverage
Final pre-election poll picture	Neither major bloc projected at 61 seats	REPORTED — final television polls reported before polling day

Caveat: figures marked CONFIRMED are supported by two or more sources; the pre-election poll picture is REPORTED polling, not a result, and will be superseded by the official count.

Who does the president choose, and why is it not automatic?

Once the official results are published, President Isaac Herzog consults representatives of the parties elected to the Knesset and asks whom they recommend to form the next government. Within seven days of the publication of the official results, he must assign the task to the Knesset member he believes has the best chance of assembling a coalition.

That choice is usually, but not automatically, the leader of the largest party. The decisive test is recommendations: the candidate with the most support from other factions is best placed to reach 61, even if another party won slightly more seats. As The Statesman notes, the president consults the parliamentary factions before assigning the task, and the process is designed around viability, not simply finishing first.

The president is Israel’s head of state, not its chief executive, so this is a procedural but consequential role: the mandate-holder sets the terms of the negotiation that follows, choosing which parties to court first and which policy concessions to offer.

How is a coalition government formed during the 28 days?

The mandate-holder negotiates with potential partners over policy, ministerial portfolios, budgets and legislative commitments. Coalition agreements in Israel are detailed documents: they set out the government’s policy guidelines, how ministries will be divided, and what each partner can expect on the issues its voters care about most.

Smaller parties can gain influence far beyond their seat totals at this stage, because their support may be the difference between 59 and 61 seats. That leverage is a recurring feature of Israeli politics, and it explains why negotiations over issues such as military conscription, the balance between religion and state, and security policy can take longer than the seat arithmetic alone would suggest.

Once coalition agreements are finalised, the prime minister-designate presents the new government, its policy guidelines and its ministers to the Knesset for a formal vote of confidence. If approved, the ministers take their oaths of office and the new government takes over from the caretaker administration.

What happens if the first candidate fails?

The timetable is set out in stages, so a failed first attempt does not immediately mean another election. First, the initial candidate has 28 days, with the president able to grant extensions totalling up to 14 additional days. If that candidate fails, returns the mandate, or cannot pass a confidence vote, the president has three days to assign another Knesset member the task or to tell the Knesset speaker that there is no viable path to a government.

The second candidate receives 28 days, without an extension. If that effort also fails, a final 21-day period begins during which at least 61 Knesset members can submit a written request asking the president to appoint a particular member of parliament. That candidate then has 14 days to establish a government.

If no government emerges from any of these routes, the Knesset is dissolved and another election must be held. Israel held five elections between 2019 and 2022 amid repeated difficulties in forming stable governing coalitions, which is why the possibility of a further vote is treated seriously rather than as a formality.

Why does forming a government take so long?

According to the Israel Democracy Institute, forming an Israeli government has historically taken between 20 and 100 days. The count itself takes time — official results are due by November 4, with appeals possible until November 18 — and the presidential consultations, coalition bargaining and confidence vote all follow after that.

The deeper reason is structural. Proportional representation produces fragmented parliaments in which no single party comes close to a majority, so the government must be negotiated rather than simply declared. Each partner brings its own red lines, and the agreements must hold together not just for the confidence vote but for budgets and legislation afterwards.

That is also why exit polls on election night, expected shortly after polling stations close at 10 p.m. local time on October 27, should be treated as estimates, not results. They give an early indication of the seat distribution, but the coalition arithmetic — and the president’s choice of mandate-holder — is settled only after the official count and the consultations that follow.

What the October 27 vote changes, and what it does not

The October 27 vote is Israel’s first general election since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, covered in our election-eve coverage, and the wars that followed. Final pre-election polls reported before polling day put neither the bloc around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud nor the opposition camp around former army chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar at 61 seats, with Arab parties forecast to hold seats that could prove decisive in negotiations. Those are reported polls, not results, and they underline the central point of this explainer: the vote will settle which lists won how many seats, but not immediately who governs.

What the vote does settle is the composition of the 26th Knesset and the balance of recommendations the president will hear. What it does not settle, on the night, is the coalition: the policy programme, the ministerial line-up, and whether the next government is a narrow coalition, a broader unity arrangement, a minority government sustained by outside support, or — if every route fails — a prelude to another election.

Until a new government is sworn in, the outgoing government remains in office. Basic Law: The Government provides that an outgoing government continues to serve until a new one is formed, so the caretaker period is a constitutional bridge, not a vacuum.

What to watch next after October 27

For the wider regional picture, see our Conflict Zones hub.

First, the official results and the seat totals for each bloc, rather than the gap between individual parties. Second, the recommendations each faction gives the president, which reveal who is genuinely available as a coalition partner and who is ruling themselves out. Third, whether smaller parties use their leverage on conscription, religion and state, and security policy — or trade it for ministries and budgets.

Fourth, the timetable itself: the president’s assignment within seven days of the official results, the 28-day mandate, and whether an extension is needed. A government formed quickly would still be unusual by Israeli standards; a negotiation stretching into the 20-to-100-day range would not, on its own, signal a crisis.

What the next Israeli government means for US/UK/EU readers

For readers in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, the composition of the next Israeli government matters less as a single headline and more as a guide to what follows on security, diplomacy and regional policy. Washington’s security cooperation with Jerusalem, European diplomacy on Gaza’s future, and the wider regional picture involving Iran and Israel’s neighbours will all be shaped by which coalition emerges and how stable it is.

A narrow coalition dependent on a small number of partners may find it harder to make concessions in negotiations, while a broader coalition may have more room to move but be harder to hold together. For travellers and businesses, the practical point is simpler: the caretaker arrangement means there is no gap in government while negotiations continue, and the policy direction will become clear from the coalition agreements and the government’s policy guidelines when they are presented to the Knesset, rather than from election-night claims.

Readers should also be wary of two common misreadings. The party that finishes first does not automatically form the government, and a high turnout or a strong exit poll does not, on its own, deliver 61 seats. Both mistakes were common in past Israeli elections, and both will recur if the seat count is read as a final result.

Frequently asked questions

How is Israel’s prime minister chosen?
Israelis do not vote directly for a prime minister. They vote for party lists, the president tasks one Knesset member with forming a government after consulting the elected factions, and that person becomes prime minister only if the government they present wins a Knesset vote of confidence.

Why does Israel always have coalition governments?
Because no party has ever won 61 of the 120 Knesset seats on its own. Proportional representation and the 3.25% threshold produce fragmented parliaments, so parties must combine their seats to reach a governing majority.

What is the 3.25% threshold?
It is the minimum share of valid votes a party list must win to enter the Knesset. Lists below that share win no seats, and their votes do not count towards the allocation of seats among qualifying lists.

How long does the president give a candidate to form a government?
The first candidate normally gets 28 days, with up to 14 more days of extensions. A second candidate gets 28 days without an extension, and a candidate nominated by at least 61 Knesset members in the final stage gets 14 days.

What happens if nobody can form a government?
The Knesset is dissolved and another election is held. The outgoing government continues in a caretaker capacity until a successor government takes office.

Sources

• Israel Policy Forum: How Is an Israeli Government Formed?
• Organiser: Israel Election 2026: Polling hours, exit polls and results
• The Statesman: Israel election 2026 explained: Netanyahu vs Eisenkot and the 61-seat majority
• The Indian Express: Israel Elections 2026 Explained
• ANews: Israelis head to the polls in parliamentary elections