On Sunday, Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu is to formally receive the task of forming Israel’s next government.
President Isaac Herzog completed consultations Friday with all parliamentary groups elected to the Twenty-Fifth Knesset.
Sixty-four members of Knesset recommended to the president that he assign the task of forming a government to Likud Chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu.
Twenty-eight MKs recommended Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid MK, and four factions, representing 28 members of Knesset, decided to abstain from making any recommendation.
Following the consultations, Office of the President Director-General Eyal Shviki phoned Tzachi Braverman, chief of staff to MK Benjamin Netanyahu and invited the Likud leader to formally receive from Herzog on Sunday (Nov. 13) the role of forming a new government.
By law, once the president assigns a member of Knesset the task of government formation, the latter has 28 days in which to do so, according to Basic Law: The Government. If an extension is required, the president has the legal authority to grant an extension of up to 14 additional days.
Here’s the breakdown of who recommended Netanyahu to head the new government, and who did not.
Factions recommending Benjamin Netanyahu MK:
1. Likud
2. Shas
3. United Torah Judaism
4. Religious Zionism
5. Jewish Power
6. Noam
Factions recommending Yair Lapid MK:
1. Yesh Atid
2. Labor
Factions that refrained from making any recommendation:
1. National Unity
2. Yisrael Beitenu
3. United Arab List (Ra’am)
4. Hadash-Ta’al
