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Q&A: Israeli elections Q&A: Israel's general election
(1 day later)
Israel is holding general elections on 10 February, with polls suggesting centre-right opposition Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu is best placed to become the next prime minister. Israel held general elections on 10 February, with exit polls suggesting the centrist Kadima party led by Tzipi Livni had just pipped Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party. The result means it could be some time before a coherent picture emerges of Israel's next coalition government.
How will a government be formed?
Israel's electoral system has always resulted in coalition governments, with no party ever winning the 61 seats required for a straight majority in the 120-member Knesset.
Normally the leader of the party with the most seats is offered the chance to form a governing coalition - but only if they are seen as most likely to succeed.
But with Tzipi Livni only one seat ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu, it means everything now depends on discussions the president has with party representatives.
The party in third place - Yisraeli Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman - could play a very important role. The hardline right-winger is being seen as the possible king- or queen-maker in a very unpredictable situation.
But is up in the air whether Mr Lieberman will favour an alliance with fellow rightist Mr Netanyahu or prefer sitting on the right of a centrist coalition with Ms Livni. Or will he stay neutral? Or will the other parties seek to keep him and his fiery anti-Arab rhetoric out?
The Israeli electorate may have spoken, but everything is still to play for.
Why were the elections called?Why were the elections called?
The road to elections began when outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced he would resign in the face of multiple corruption investigations. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won primary elections for the leadership of Mr Olmert's centrist Kadima party in September 2008. KEY DATES Feb 2001: Ariel Sharon elected prime ministerAug-Sept 2005: Withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements, Binyamin Netanyahu resigns as finance ministerNov 2005: Sharon resigns from Likud and forms KadimaDec 2005: Benjamin Netanyahu elected Likud leaderJan 2006: Sharon suffers major stroke, Ehud Olmert becomes caretaker PMMarch 2006: Kadima wins elections and later forms coalition with LabourJuly 2006: Israel-Lebanon war breaks outMay 2007: Report criticises Olmert's handling of war. Calls for resignation.July 2008: Facing corruption probe, Olmert announces plans to step downSeptember 2008: Tzipi Livni elected to lead KadimaOctober 2008: Livni announces coalition bid failedDec 2008: Operation Cast Lead launched on GazaFeb 2009:10 February 2009: Elections held class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7035526.stm">Olmert corruption allegations
She then had the opportunity to form a governing coalition and become the next prime minister. But she failed to reach agreement to keep the religious party Shas in the government and opted instead to go to fresh elections. The road to elections began when outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced he would resign in the face of multiple corruption investigations. Foreign Minister Ms Livni won primary elections for the leadership of Mr Olmert's centrist Kadima party in September 2008.
Mr Olmert has remained caretaker prime minister during the process to replace him, even as the attorney general has said he is considering charging him over accusations that he double-billed government agencies for trips abroad. She then had the opportunity to form a governing coalition and become the next prime minister. But she could not reach an agreement to keep the religious party Shas in the government and opted instead to go to fresh elections.
Who are the main candidates? Her failure in those talks may count against her when President Shimon Peres comes to chose the most likely coalition leader.
Ms Livni and Mr Netanyahu. Other players are Ehud Barak, who is a former prime minister, the current defence minister and leader of centre-left Labour Party, and Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of the far-right party Yisrael Beiteinu. What do the main parties stand for?
When Mr Olmert announced he would step down, most polls showed Mr Netanyahu comfortably ahead of Ms Livni. She narrowed the gap slightly in the following months, but lost ground again after the Israeli military operation in Gaza. Popular with Israelis, the military action swung voter concerns away from Ms Livni's agenda of clean leadership and peace talks, and back to security, boosting Mr Netanyahu, Mr Barak and Mr Lieberman. Kadima backs continuing peace talks aimed at achieving a two-state solution, and has held indirect talks with Syria over the return of the Golan Heights.
In the final polls, published four days before the election, Mr Netanyahu's lead over Ms Livni had narrowed to two or three seats, while Mr Lieberman looked set to beat Mr Barak into third place. The party was formed in 2005 after Likud was split over Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral pullout from Gaza and dismantling of settlements in the Israeli-occupied territory.
Polling organisations warned that unusually large numbers of Israelis, estimated at 15-20%, said they remained undecided, which could make the result difficult to predict. It was meant as a vehicle for further unilateral withdrawals which obviated the need for peace talks. However in November 2007 Kadima locked step with US President George W Bush in his last-year push for Palestinian statehood through negotiations.
KEY DATES Feb 2001: Ariel Sharon elected prime ministerAug-Sept 2005: Withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements, Binyamin Netanyahu resigns as finance ministerNov 2005: Sharon resigns from Likud and forms KadimaDec 2005: Benjamin Netanyahu elected Likud leaderJan 2006: Sharon suffers major stroke, Ehud Olmert becomes caretaker PMMarch 2006: Kadima wins elections and later forms coalition with LabourJuly 2006: Israel-Lebanon war breaks outMay 2007: Report criticises Olmert's handling of war. Calls for resignation.July 2008: Facing corruption probe, Olmert announces plans to step downSeptember 2008: Tzipi Livni elected to lead KadimaOctober 2008: Livni announces coalition bid failedDec 2008: Operation Cast Lead launched on GazaFeb 2009: Elections scheduled for 10 Feb class="" href="/1/hi/world/middle_east/7035526.stm">Olmert corruption allegations Despite it "pro-peace-deal" agenda Kadima has presided over two wars in its three years in power - the 2006 Lebanon war and the recent operation against Hamas in Gaza.
What do Kadima and Likud stand for? Likud stands further to the right. It has been critical of the Kadima-led peace talks with the Palestinians and wants to sets aside talk about a Palestinian state. Mr Netanyahu, a former finance minister as well as prime minister, stresses the need for economic development in the Palestinian territories in order to calm the sitaution.
Kadima describes itself as centrist. It backs peace talks aimed at achieving a two-state solution, and has held indirect talks with Syria over the return of the Golan Heights. But it has also presided over two wars in its three years in power - the 2006 Lebanon war, and the recent operation against Hamas in Gaza. Likud says the Kadima-led government halted the Gaza offensive too early, and opposes any withdrawal from the Golan Heights or division of Jerusalem.
Likud stands further right. It has been critical of the Kadima-led peace talks with the Palestinians and stresses the need for economic development for the Palestinians before a meaningful deal can be reached. Likud maintains the Kadima-Labour alliance halted the Gaza offensive too early, and opposes any withdrawal from the Golan Heights or division of Jerusalem. Yisrael Beiteinu is a champion of Jewish settlers on land Israel occupied in the 1967 war. It is seen as the scourge of the Arab minority who trace their roots back to the historical Palestine that existed before the establishment of the Israeli state in 1948.
Since Kadima was formed in 2005 out of a split in Likud, the two have been battling for Israel's political centre ground. Kadima was formed by the then Likud Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, after many members of Likud refused to support his policy of withdrawing troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. Mr Lieberman favours Israel jettisoning swathes of territory inhabited by mainly Arab families and annexing blocs of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. He is also proposing a new loyalty test for Arab citizens of Israel.
The disengagement agenda has since lost its popularity. Mr Sharon is in a coma after suffering a massive stroke, and the growth of the militant group Hamas in Gaza led many Israelis to doubt the wisdom of the withdrawal. What is Israel's electoral process?
How does the electoral process work? It is a system of proportional representation, where voters choose a party rather than an individual. Seats are allocated in proportion to the number of votes each party receives beyond a threshold of two percent.
Israel has a system of proportional representation, where voters choose to back a party, rather than an individual. The 120 seats in the Israeli parliament, known as the Knesset, are allocated in proportion to the number of votes each party receives. Candidates are allocated seats according to the order in which they appear on their party's list. The head of the list is often the leader of the party and seen as the party's candidate for prime minister. The system usually empowers a plethora of minority parties in parliament, including a number of Jewish religious groupings which can wield disproportionate influence.
Thirty-four parties stood in the 2009 poll and 12 crossed the threshold. Seven of these parties had five or fewer seats
Candidates are allocated seats according to the order in which they appear on their party's list. The head of the list is often the leader of the party and seen as the party's candidate for prime minister.
All Israelis over 18 - some 5.3m people - are eligible to vote at 9,263 polling stations.All Israelis over 18 - some 5.3m people - are eligible to vote at 9,263 polling stations.
Thirty-four parties are standing, but a party must gain at least 2% of the vote to gain a seat.
How will a government be formed?
Israel's electoral system has always resulted in coalition governments, with no party ever winning the 61 seats required for a straight majority.
The leader of the party that wins the most seats is offered the opportunity to form a coalition. This often involves deals over the interests of smaller parties. Shas, for example, has been in virtually every coalition in the past two decades, winning considerable gains on issues important to its orthodox Jewish supporters - such as child benefits - in exchange for supporting successive governments.
Polls currently predict that the right-wing bloc, including Mr Netanyahu's Likud party, Yisrael Beiteinu and a number of smaller religious and nationalist parties, will comfortably gain 60 seats.
Analysts also say Mr Netanyahu may consider including Labour within his coalition, which would give him the option of keeping Mr Barak, a much decorated former military chief of staff, in his current post of defence minister, and being less beholden to parties further to the right. Furthermore, a Likud-Kadima alliance cannot be ruled out, although Kadima aides have indicated the party does not want to be part of a Likud-Shas-Yisrael Beiteinu coalition.
What is the likely impact on the peace process?What is the likely impact on the peace process?
Whoever is elected will have to balance right-leaning voters and - most likely coalition partners - against pressure to push forward with meaningful negotiations from the new US President Barack Obama.Whoever is elected will have to balance right-leaning voters and - most likely coalition partners - against pressure to push forward with meaningful negotiations from the new US President Barack Obama.
Many other factors which will influence peace negotiations remain uncertain, including the outcome of talks aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and also the standing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel's negotiating partner.Many other factors which will influence peace negotiations remain uncertain, including the outcome of talks aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and also the standing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel's negotiating partner.
The PA is embroiled in a long-standing feud with Hamas. The militant group says it no longer recognises Mr Abbas's authority as his term has expired, and wants the PA to end its talks with Israel.The PA is embroiled in a long-standing feud with Hamas. The militant group says it no longer recognises Mr Abbas's authority as his term has expired, and wants the PA to end its talks with Israel.
Even if Israel and the PA could reach a deal, as things stand, Hamas would be strongly opposed to it.Even if Israel and the PA could reach a deal, as things stand, Hamas would be strongly opposed to it.