Here, for your consideration, is the expected schedule for the continuation of the election process for the 24th Knesset and the formation of the next Israeli government.
Consultations before the assignment of assembling the government on a selected candidate will be held at the President’s residence after the election results are finalized, and had been delivered to the President by the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, Supreme Court Justice Uzi Vogelman at the end of eight days from the date of the election, under the provisions of section 11 of the Basic Law: the Knesset.
The judge will present the results to the President on March 31, 2021. The President will then have seven days to hold consultations, make a decision and assign the cobbling of the next coalition government to one member of the Knesset. This will be done no later than April 7, 2021, but can also take place earlier.
The continuation of the process according to Basic Law: Government:
The MK to whom the President entrusts the task of forming a government is given 28 days to complete it. The President may extend this period by up to 14 days. If the time given to the MK has passed and he or she have not been able to form a government, or the MK informs the president that he could not form a government, or a government was presented and the Knesset rejected it with a confidence vote, the president has two options which he must exercise within three days:
- Assign the formation of a government to another MK who is willing to accept the job. This MK will have 28 days to form a government.
- Inform the Speaker of the Knesset that he does not see the possibility of forming a government.
If the President informs the Speaker of the Knesset that he does not see the possibility of forming a government, or he assigned to the second MK the job of forming a government and he or she also failed, or the MK informed the president that he or she cannot form a government, or a government was presented and the Knesset rejected it with a vote of no confidence, then a majority (61) of the MKs may ask the president in writing to assign the post of prime minister to an MK of their choice, who has agreed to this in writing – all of which must happen within 21 days.
If such a request is submitted by 61 MKs, the president must assign the position to the specific MK within two days, and this MK will be given 14 days to form a government.
If no application has been submitted by a majority of the Knesset members, or the MK requested by the majority of MKs does not form a government, or he or she informs the president that they could not form a government, or the government was presented and the Knesset rejected it with a vote of no confidence, the Knesset will be dissolved before the end of its legal term (4 years), and, God forbid, new elections will be declared.
In summary, these are the relevant dates to keep in mind:
- March 31, 2021 – submission of the results of the official election to the president.
- March 31 to April 7, 2021 – the president will hold consultations with the factions in his residence.
- April 7, 2021 – the deadline according to the law for assigning the job of forming a government to the MK that was endorsed by the largest number of MKs.
As has become the norm over the past two years, the Knesset factions’ consultations with the president will be broadcast live from the President’s residence in complete transparency.