Israeli legislative election, 1969

Elections for the seventh Knesset were held in Israel on 28 October, 1969. Voter turnout was 77.8%.

Results

¹ Meir Avizohar defected from the National List to the Alignment

² Shaki left the National Religious Party and remained a single MK

³ After This World – New Power split up, Uri Avnery started Meri, whilst Shalom Cohen remained a single MK.

The election

The 1969 election is notable for the fact that the Alignment were returned to power with the largest number of seats ever won in an Israeli election (57 of the 120). This can be put down to the government's popularity following the country's victory in the Six Day War, as well as the fact that the Alignment were formed from a merger of the four most popular left-wing parties who between them had taken 51.2% of the vote in the previous election.

It was also the last election with such a decisive majority for the left-wing in Israel, as the disastrous Yom Kippur War shortly before the next elections seriously damaged the Alignment's credibility, with their majority over Gahal reduced to just 12 seats.

The Seventh Knesset

Golda Meir of the Alignment formed the fifteenth government, a national unity government including Gahal, the National Religious Party, the Independent Liberals, Progress and Development and Cooperation and Brotherhood. There were 24 ministers.

Gahal resigned from the coalition on 6 August 1970 after the government had decided to adopt the Rogers Plan.

The seventh Knesset was one of the most stable, with only one new party created (and that itself was virtually a rename of an existing party) and four MKs changing parties.

External links

* [http://www.knesset.gov.il/review/ReviewPage.aspx?kns=7&lng=3 Historical overview of the Seventh Knesset] Knesset website en icon
* [http://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_res7.htm Election results on the Knesset website]
* [http://www.knesset.gov.il/history/eng/eng_hist7_s.htm The Seventh Knesset on the Knesset website]