Israeli Elections:
Central Elections Committee

Elections: Table of Contents | Electoral History | Political Parties

According to the Knesset Elections Law (Consolidated Version) of 1969, the task of the Elections Committee is to carry out the elections for the upcoming Knesset.

The committee is formed within 60 days of the induction of the newly formed Knesset, and it continues to function until the next committee is formed. The Central Elections Committee is comprised of Knesset members (or their delegates) representing various parliamentary groups, and is chaired by a Supreme Court justice. The committee has many tasks surrounding the elections including the authorization and registration of lists running for Knesset, the financing of elections, the organization and implementation of election day, the publication of election results, and appeals on the results.

Another responsibility of the committee is to ban political parties who they determine either disregard the laws of the land, work towards the elimination of Israel in general or incite racism amongst their constituents. In 1988, the central election committee banned the Progressive List for Peace (PLP), who negated the existence of Israel, and the Kach Party, accused of inciting racism against Arabs. More recent bans of the Muslims parties Ta'al, Balad, and United Arab List were eventually overturned by the Israeli Supreme Court.

2013 Election Committee Presidium:

Sources: The Knesset