Israel: 2021 parliamentary election and new coalition government

Israel’s election, to elect members of the Knesset, was the fourth election in two years and came less than a year since the swearing-in of the “unity government” in May 2020.

37 political parties and factions contested the election and 13 went on to win at least one of the 120 seats in the chamber.

The election campaign was low key and largely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership.

Official results from Israel’s Central Election Commission show Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats in the Knesset, although not enough to form a government or to indicate a clear path towards a coalition.

On 6 April 2021 Israel’s President, Reuven Rivlin, asked Netanyahu to form the next government. However, Netanyahu wasn’t able to form a coalition government within the 28-day time period.

On 5 May Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid was tasked with forming a government and, on 2 June, informed the President that he had been able to do so.

As part of a rotation arrangement under the terms of the coalition agreement, Yamina’s Natfali Bennett will serve as Prime Minister until September 2023, before Lapid takes over to serve until the end of the Knesset term in November 2025.

Bennett was sworn in as Prime Minister on 13 June 2021, after winning a confidence vote in the Knesset by just one vote. The coalition was approved by 60 votes to 59, with one abstention.