Israel votes on 27 October to elect its next Knesset as the parliament completes its full term
13 October 2026
Israel's general election is set for 27 October 2026.
The Knesset, Israel's unicameral parliament, dissolved on Friday 17 July 2026, the first time the body had seen out its full term since 1988.
Voters elect 120 members of the Knesset.
The system is nationwide proportional representation: the whole country functions as a single electoral district and voters choose party lists rather than individual candidates.
The electoral threshold is 3.25 per cent, so a list below that share wins no seats.
No party has won an outright majority in the country's history, which makes coalition-building central; after an election the President asks the politician best placed to form a government to assemble a coalition.
In plain words
Knesset — Israel's parliament, a single chamber of 120 members.
Electoral threshold — The minimum share of the national vote a party list must win to get any seats.
Proportional representation — A system in which seats are shared out in proportion to the votes each list receives.