How Soon Will New Israeli Gov’t be Sworn In?

Here’s a timeline of the upcoming key dates before a new government is sworn in.

By Pesach Benson, United with Israel

With 99 percent of the ballots counted as of Thursday afternoon, Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc has won the majority of the Knesset with 64 seats. Although the victory is all but confirmed, a number of things still need to happen before a new government is sworn in.

Here’s a timeline of the key upcoming dates.

Nov 9: Deadline for the Central Election Committee to publish and certify the results of the Nov. 1 election and formally present a copy to President Isaac Herzog.

Nov.10: Herzog begins a series of meetings with representatives of each of the parties that made the Knesset. The goal of the consultations is to assess which member of Knesset has the best chance to form a government.

These meetings are usually held over two or three-day period and will be televised. The majority of lawmakers will nominate Netanyahu.

Nov. 15: The 25th Knesset convenes for the first time. Members will be sworn in and a new Knesset speaker will be elected.

Nov 16: Deadline for Herzog to announce which Knesset member he is appointing to form a government. The nominee has 28 days to form a government and present it to the Knesset for approval. A 14-day extension is customarily granted if more time is needed.

This period of time is when potential coalition partners jockey for key appointments in the Cabinet, Knesset committees and various ministries. The first cracks in coalition unity become further evident as members compete over the details of the government’s policy goals.

According to Hebrew media reports on Thursday, Netanyahu has appointed Likud MK Yariv Levin to coordinate coalition negotiations and has already reached out to leaders of Shas and United Torah Judaism, and to the three factions that make up the Religious Zionism party.

The reports specified that Netanyahu is negotiating separately with the Religious Zionist, Otzma Yehudit and Noam factions even though they joined together as Religious Zionism.

Nov. 23: Deadline for parties to file appeals over the election results.

Dec. 14: First deadline for nominee to present government to the Knesset for approval.

Dec. 28: Second deadline — if needed — for nominee to present government to the Knesset for approval.

In the event the nominee is unable to form a coalition, the president will consult with party leaders again and task another nominee to form a new government.

If the second nominee is also unable to form a new government, the Knesset may either vote to dissolve itself and hold another national election, or task a third nominee with forming a government.

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