Unlike the two-party American system, in the coming election Israel will be “blessed” with 31 parties. People voting for many of these parties may be throwing away their votes because a change in the law now requires a party to get a minimum of two percent of the vote (2.4 seats), or all of the votes for that party are discarded.
To become a member of a political party, a person must declare his intention and pay a small registration fee. Voters may, of course, be a member of one party yet vote for a different party. Some parties are democratic, and some are autocratic. Some have elections similar to a primary, where those who claim to be members of the party in any community vote for their delegates to represent them on the central committee. It is these delegates who choose the party leaders and candidates. Unlike in the U.S., the central committee delegates are not pledged to any candidate, and they can support anyone they wish, but delegates will usually inform the local branch of whom they support.
The Mafdal, Religious Zionist Party (Mizrachi Hapoel-Hamizrachi), for example, allocates to each local branch a number of delegates using an interesting formula: Votes in the last election and current members. Our yishuv, for example, had only 50 signed-up members but had some 600 votes in the last election, and therefore received two central committee delegates. A city with 600 Mafdal members, but with few votes for the Mafdal in the last election, only received one central committee delegate. There are 1,000 central committee members (including me), who meet in convention to decide who the party leaders will be and what the order of the party Knesset list will be.
To win a realistic place on the party list, a delegate must be very popular, have many supporters around the country or be a good dealmaker. With only two delegates, if our delegate wanted a place on the party list, many deals, negotiations and coalitions would have to be made with other delegations because only the first five or six places on the party list are considered realistic to win a seat.
In many instances, central committee members are often wined and dined by hopeful candidates (although I did not experience any special consideration) and they are bombarded with mail, phone calls and e-mails.
The Kadima party of Ariel Sharon is an example of an autocratic party. There were no primaries or delegates, and Sharon had planned to decide by himself who would be on the party list. (Ehud Olmart took over and did the same.) The list members are mostly well-known political figures and supporters of Sharon, but they have no constituency and were not chosen by any vote to lead the party.
Sixty-one votes make up a majority in the Knesset. If no party receives 61 seats, the president of Israel will ask one of the party leaders to attempt to form a coalition government. The president, of course, usually consults with each party that won seats and they suggest a candidate. The president may choose whomever he wishes, but he will look foolish if he chooses wrongly. The president’s role is mostly ceremonial.
During its tenure, Knesset members are not required to remain in their party or to vote along party lines. There have been many breakaway parties. Kadima, is an example. A Knesset member may either join another party or, under certain circumstances, form a new party. A lot of government money from party support funds are involved when a Knesset member leaves a party, and this desertion causes many hard feelings.