2021 Israeli presidential election
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Indirect presidential elections were held in Israel on 2 June 2021.[1] The President of Israel is elected by members of the Knesset for a single seven-year term. Incumbent President Reuven Rivlin,[2] who had been in office since 24 July 2014, was ineligible for re-election.
The presidency is a largely ceremonial position, wielding little real power.[3] The president's main role is meeting the leaders of each party following legislative elections to discuss nominations for prime minister, and giving a mandate to try and form a government to the candidate they deem most likely to succeed.
The election was notable for several firsts. Namely, neither of the candidates was a sitting member of the Knesset, and both ran as independents. Furthermore, the election of Peretz would have made her the first non-interim female head of state of Israel, while Herzog's victory made him the first child of a former president to be elected president.[4]
Isaac Herzog was elected the 11th President of Israel with 87 Knesset members voting for him,[5] which was the biggest majority a candidate has ever won.[6] The prior record was 86 votes, which was held by Zalman Shazar (1968), Yitzhak Navon (1978), and Shimon Peres (2007, in the second round). In all three cases, the candidates receiving 86 votes were unopposed (in the case of Peres, his opponents dropped out for the second round).[7]
Herzog was inaugurated as president on 7 July.[5] He was sworn in at a ceremony at the Knesset, where he took the oath of office on the same 107-year-old Bible that his father Chaim Herzog used when he assumed the presidency in 1983.[8]
Background[edit]
On 9 July 2021,[9] incumbent President Reuven Rivlin is expected to end his seven-year term, and according to section 3 (b) of the Basic Law: President of the State, the President of the State will serve only one term.[10] The date of the election will be determined by the Knesset presidency, in which 120 Knesset members will be required to convene a plenum and elect the eleventh president by secret ballot. According to the law, the election date will be set between thirty and ninety days before the end of the outgoing president's term, but due to the elections to the 24th Knesset being held in close proximity to the date, and due to the law's obligation to announce the election date three weeks earlier, the earliest possible election date is 69 days before the end of Rivlin's term on 27 April.
On 22 April 2020, MK Merav Michaeli of the Labor Party submitted a bill which states that a criminal suspect or defendant will not be able to run for president. The bill's goal was to ensure that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of crimes, was not able to run for president.[11] However, the law was not adopted.
On 24 May 2021, the chairman of the organizing committee, MK Karine Elharrar from Yesh Atid, threatened to refuse to schedule the presidential election. The dispute arose after the Knesset speaker blocked all private members' bills on the floor of the Knesset, fearing that bills targeting Netanyahu, such as the bill preventing someone facing criminal charges from serving as prime minister, may advance.[12] Likud refused this request and the two parties remained in a stalemate. Yesh Atid believe that delaying or cancelling the presidential election is the only way to force Likud's hand and to get a vote on their legislation in the Knesset. In the case where there is no election, the speaker, Yariv Levin of the Likud will be appointed as the president on an interim basis.[13]
Procedure[edit]
The election is conducted in the Knesset, with each member receiving one vote. The election is conducted in a two-round system. If a candidate does not receive a majority in the first round, a runoff is conducted. The ballots are kept secret.
Any Israeli citizen is eligible to run for president. In November 2013, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein ruled that candidates would be barred from raising funds to finance their campaigns.[14]
Candidates[edit]
Official candidacy requires the endorsement of 10 Members of the Knesset. By the deadline of 20 May,[15] only two people had gained the support of 10 or more MKs:
- Isaac Herzog:[16] chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel,[17] former Leader of the Opposition.[18] Obtained 27 signatures, from MKs from all parties in the Knesset, except the Arab parties.[19]
- Miriam Peretz: educator and public speaker.[16] Obtained the support of 11 MKs.[20]
Candidates who failed to be eligible for election[edit]
- Yosef Abramowitz: "solar energy pioneer"[21][16][failed verification]
- Michael Bar-Zohar: former Member of Knesset for the Alignment and Labor Party.[16] Bar-Zohar dropped out of the race on 19 May and endorsed Herzog.[22]
- Yehoram Gaon: singer and actor[16] Gaon dropped out of the race on 19 May.[23]
- Yehudah Glick: former Member of Knesset for Likud. 43rd on the Likud list for the election to the 24th Knesset. Glick dropped out of the race on 19 May.[24]
- Elham Khazen: pharmacist, former head of Blue and White's Women in Arab Society division and former Labor Party candidate.[25][failed verification]
- Amir Peretz: former leader of the Labor Party and incumbent Minister of Economy. Former Minister of Defence and former mayor of Sderot.[26] Peretz dropped out of the race on 5 May.[27]
- Shimon Shetreet: first candidate to announce interest in running, professor of law and former Minister and Member of Knesset for the Labor Party.[16][failed verification] 68th on Labor list in the 2021 elections.
Opinion polls[edit]
Although the public was not able to vote in the election, opinion polls were conducted to determine public support for the candidates.
| Pollster | Date | Sample | Miriam Peretz | Isaac Herzog | None of them | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Polls[28] | 21 May 2021 | 684[a] | 49.05% | 38.36% | 6.88% | 5.71% |
| Pollster | Date | Miriam Peretz | Yoram Gaon | Isaac Herzog | Amir Peretz | Yuli Edelstein | Shimon Shetreet | Yehudah Glick | Benjamin Netanyahu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kol Ha'ir[29] | 1 January 2021 | 27.7% | 16.4% | 11.6% | 8.4% | 8.4% | 4% | 3.1% | - |
| Channel 20/Magar Mohot[30] | 11 October 2020 | 50% | - | - | 10% | 9% | 5% | 3% | 23% |
| Channel 12 /Direct Polls[31] | 3 August 2020 | 44% | - | 18% | 9% | 14% | - | - | - |
Results[edit]
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Herzog | Independent | 87 | 76.99 | |
| Miriam Peretz | Independent | 26 | 23.01 | |
| Total | 113 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 113 | 94.96 | ||
| Invalid votes | 3 | 2.52 | ||
| Blank votes | 3 | 2.52 | ||
| Total votes | 119 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 120 | 99.17 | ||
| Source: Knesset | ||||
The only member of the Knesset not to cast a vote was Mansour Abbas.[32]
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ Sample includes Israeli Jews only
References[edit]
- ^ "Next president to be picked on June 2 — Knesset". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Reuven Rivlin is elected Israel's 10th president". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "The Presidency in Israel". President of Israel (in Hebrew). Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "Herzog, Peretz to face off in presidential race in Knesset". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Knesset vote for President Rivlin's successor set for June 2". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ Bitton, Avihay. "יצחק (בוז'י) הרצוג הוא הנשיא הבא של מדינת ישראל | חדר מצב". www.mazav.co.il. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Previous Presidential Elections". knesset.gov.il. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ Sharon, Itamar; Winer, Stuart (7 July 2021). "Herzog to take office as Israel's 11th president in a day of pomp and ceremony". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ Magid, Jacob; Berman, Lazar. "Rivlin invited to address joint session of US Congress". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Basic Law: The President of the State". www.knesset.gov.il. Archived from the original on 9 March 2003. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "N12 - הצעת חוק של ח״כ מרב מיכאלי: נאשם בפלילים לא יוכל..." N12. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Likud and Yesh Atid clash over presidential election". Israel National News. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Yesh Atid threatens to stop vote for president over dispute with Levin". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Legislators barred from campaign fundraising for Israeli presidency". Haaretz. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ Gil Hoffman (19 May 2021). "Last day to join Israel's presidential race". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Gil Hoffman (16 May 2021). "Presidential candidates scramble to sign up supporters". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Herzog to become Jewish Agency head despite Netanyahu's opposition". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Israeli Labor's New Leader Looking to Obama and de Blasio As Models". Tablet Magazine. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "Herzog, Peretz in; Glick, Bar-Zohar out of race for president". The Jerusalem Post. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "המועמדים לבחירות לנשיאות: בוז'י הרצוג ומרים פרץ". ynet (in Hebrew). 19 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Gil Hoffman (22 April 2021). "Israeli-American solar energy pioneer Yosef Abramowitz runs for president". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ Tal Schneider (19 May 2021). "Isaac Herzog, Miriam Peretz announce candidacy for presidency as race warms up". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Tal Schneider; Staff writer (20 May 2021). "And then there were 2: Isaac Herzog and Miriam Peretz to compete for presidency". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ "Miriam Peretz formally submits candidacy for president; Glick withdraws". The Times of Israel. 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ Much, Afif Abu (10 December 2020). "Arab-Israeli woman announces presidential run". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ "N12 - הזיגזג של פרץ: התחייב לפני שנה שלא ירוץ לנשיאות | צפו". N12. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
- ^ "Ex-Labor chief Amir Peretz says he won't seek presidency". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ Arutz Sheva Staff. "Poll: Israelis favor Miriam Peretz over Isaac Herzog for president". Israel National News. Arutz Sheva. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ "התוצאות: סקר גיאוקרטוגרפיה ל"כל העיר" - המועמדים המובילים לנשיאות המדינה | כל הער". כל העיר ירושלים (in Hebrew). 1 January 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ "המירוץ לנשיאות: במי תומך הציבור? | סקר ערוץ 20". Channel 20. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "44% רוצים את מרים פרץ נשיאת המדינה". ערוץ 7 (in Hebrew). Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ Isaac Herzog elected Israel’s 11th president, with 87 votes of Knesset’s 120 The Times of Israel, 2 June 2021
