With a day left to form a new government, a bill to dissolve the Knesset has been submitted for approval Tuesday by representatives of Israel’s two biggest parties, making an unprecedented third election in 12 months almost inevitable.
The Bill for the Dissolution of the 22st Knesset was drafted by Likud MKs Miki Zohar and Shlomo Karai as well as Blue and White MKs Avi Nissenkorn, MK Meir Cohen and MK Zvi Hauser. The new vote, likely to be held on March 2, 2020, will be the first time in Israeli political history that three general elections have been held within less than 12 months.
"Due to the exceptional circumstances, and after two consecutive election campaigns following which no government was formed, we propose to dissolve the 22nd Knesset and hold new elections on Monday, March 2, 2020," said the bill.
The bill was submitted after neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor Blue and White leader Benny Gantz managed to form a new government following the September 17 vote. The mandate to form government had then been handed by President Reuven Rivlin to the Knesset that was supposed to recommend (with the support of 61 of the 120 lawmakers) a candidate for premier.
The 21-day deadline given to the Knesset is set to expire Wednesday, which is when the vote to approve the dispersal bill is expected to be held.
If elections are to be held within the next 3 months, it would mark over a year since there was a functioning government in Israel. During that period almost no legislative procedures have been approved by the Knesset.