What are the voters voting for?

Voters have two votes in the 1999 elections. They will post a vote for the election of Israel's next prime minister, and they will also vote for the party or political list of their choice in the election for the Knesset, Israel's parliament. There are five candidates for prime minister, and over 30 parties battling for Knesset seats in the May 17th elections.  

How many voters are there?

Number of eligible voters: 4,285,428 -- a 9.2% increase (382,000 voters) since the 1996 general election.

What is the election budget?

Election budget: NIS 288,512,000. -- $70,368,780

Which body organizes the elections?

The Central Elections Committee (CEC) is responsible for the fair and proper running of the elections, and comprises 38 members -- including a chairman selected by the president of the Supreme Court -- representing all political parties. It is assisted by 18 regional committees, each headed by a judge, who is assisted by a director responsible for election-day logistics. The chairman of the Central Elections Committee is Justice Eliyahu Mazza.

How many votes does a party need to get a seat?

Number of votes necessary to win one Knesset seat (electoral threshold): 1.5 percent (estimated at 55,000).

How many ballots have been printed?

5.5 million ballots have been printed for each list running for the Knesset, while 7 million ballots have been printed for each candidate for prime minister -- a total weight of 10.5 tons of white paper and 25 tons of colored paper.

How many polling stations are there?

7,344 -- 7,021 in Israel, 103 in Israeli missions abroad, 173 in hospitals, 42 in prisons. For the first time, handicapped voters will be allowed to cast their ballots at special, accessible polling stations in the area of their residence.

Polling stations will operate from 07:00 to 22:00 on May 17th, while those in some smaller communities will operate only from 09:00 to 21:00. No photography or filming is permitted at polling stations.

What are the voting procedures?

Prior to election day, all registered voters will have received confirmation of their voting status and the address of their polling stations (these cards are not required to be presented in order to vote.) Inquiries may be directed to the CEC Public Information Center, via the toll-free numbers advertised in the media, where assistance is available in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and Amharic -- and by fax for the hearing impaired.

On election day, voters identify themselves to polling officials by their identity cards, which will then be stamped. Voters are then noted on the election registry and given two ballot envelopes: one blue (for the Knesset) and one yellow (for prime minister). Ballots placed in the wrong envelope will be disqualified.Each voter places a ballot slip with an alphabetic symbol denoting their party of choice or the name of a candidate for prime minister in the appropriate envelope, which is then placed in a sealed ballot box.

A supervisory committee at each polling station consists of three members, representing parties from the outgoing Knesset and the CEC. Parties are entitled to station observers at polling stations where they are not represented on the supervisory committee, all of whose members must be over 16 years of age by election day.

Why could there be a second round of voting?

The prime minister must be elected by a majority of votes cast. If one of the candidates does not register a majority in the ballot on May 17th, then the top two candidates will take part in a second vote, that will be held on June 1st. By then the composition of the Knesset will already be known and this could have a significant effect on the second vote.