Israeli prime ministerial election, 1996

The first ever election for Prime Minister was held in Israel on 29 May 1996 alongside simultaneous Knesset elections. There were only two candidates, Shimon Peres of the Labour Party and Binyamin Netanyahu of Likud. The result was a surprise win for Netanyahu by just 29,000 votes, less than 1% of the total number of votes cast. This came after the initial exit polls had predicted a Peres win, [ [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/netanyahu2_election_5-30.html At the Crossroads] PBS, 30 May 1996] spawning the phrase "went to sleep with Peres, woke up with Netanyahu." [ [http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART/977/618.html Prime Minister Netanyahu. Remember?] Maariv, 30 August 2005 (in Hebrew)] The election was Peres' fourth and, to date, last election defeat.

The election was a result of a change in the law during the thirteenth Knesset which was intended to strengthen the position Prime Minister given the Knesset's fragmentary nature.

Election campaign

After taking over from Yitzhak Rabin following his assassination, Peres decided to call early elections in order to give the government a mandate to advance the peace process. [ [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9602/israel_elex/02-11/index.html Israeli elections will test support for peace] CNN, 11 February 1996]

Netanyahu's campaign was helped by Australian mining magnate Joseph Gutnick, who donated over $1 million to Likud.

Nevertheless, Labour and Peres were comfortably ahead in the polls early in 1996, holding a lead of 20%. However, the country was hit by a spate of suicide attacks by Hamas including the Jerusalem bus 18 massacres and other attacks in Ashkelon and the Dizengoff Centre, which killed 59 people and severely damaged Peres' chances; [ [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/28/israel.impact/index.html Suicide bombings scar Peres' political ambitions] CNN, May 28 1996] polls taken in mid-May showed Peres ahead by just 4-6%, [ [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/pivotal.elections/1996/israel/candidates.html Pivotal Elections: Candidates] CNN, 1996] whilst two days before the election his lead was down to 2%. [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/28/israel.voting/index.html Israeli election is a dead heat] CNN, 28 May 1996]

Several leading ultra-orthodox Rabbis, including Elazar Shach, called on their followers to vote for Netanyahu, [ [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/27/israel.reax/index.html Israeli race for prime minister narrows] CNN, 27 May 1996] whilst Leah Rabin, Yitzhak's widow, called on Israelis to vote for Peres so that her husband's death "would not be in vain." [ [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/29/israel.leah.rabin/index.html Rabin's widow tells Israelis: Vote for Peres] CNN, 30 May 1996]

Result

In addition to the 2,972,589 valid votes, there were 148,681 invalid votes.

Voting patterns

Netanyahu's win was bolstered by large support from the ultra-orthodox community, 91.2% of whom voted for him. Peres on the other hand, gained overwhelming support from the country's Arab community, 97.5% of which backed him. [ [http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/29/israel.elex.8pm/index.html Razor-close race awaits absentee count] CNN, 31 May 1996]

Aftermath

Despite winning the election for Prime Minister, Netanyahu's Likud (in an alliance with Gesher and Tzomet) lost the Knesset elections to Labour, winning only 32 seats compared to Labour's 34.

The objective of strengthening the position of Prime Minister by having separate elections was also a failure, as the election saw both major parties lose around ten seats compared to the 1992 election (Likud held only 24 of the 32 seats it won in its alliance) as many gave their Knesset votes to smaller parties; Labour received 818,570 votes to Peres' 1.47 million, (56%), whilst the Likud-Gesher-Tzomet troika managed even less - 767,178 compared to 1.50 million for Netanyahu (51%).

With only 32 seats, Likud was by far the smallest governing party in Israeli political history (the previous lowest had been Mapai's 40 seats in the 1955 election). This meant Netanyahu had to form a coalition with several smaller parties, including the ultra-orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism whose financial policies (generous child benefits and state funding for religious activities) were in direct opposition to his capitalistic outlook.

After several defections from his party, Netanyahu was forced to call early elections in 1999.

References

External links

* [http://www.knesset.gov.il/description/eng/eng_mimshal_res14.htm Results on the official Knesset website (in English)]