1969 Israeli legislative election

Legislative elections were held in Israel on 28 October 1969 to elect members of the seventh Knesset. The ruling Alignment coalition was returned to power with the largest number of seats ever won in an Israeli election (56 out of 120). This was attributed to the government's popularity following the country's victory in the Six-Day War, and that the Alignment had been formed by an alliance of the four most popular left-wing parties, who between them had received 51.2% of the vote in the previous elections in 1965. As a result, Golda Meir remained Prime Minister. Voter turnout was 81.7%.[1]

Elections for the 7th Knesset
Israel
← 196528 October 19691973 →

All 120 seats in the Knesset
61 seats needed for a majority
Turnout81.7% (Decrease 4.2 pp)
PartyLeader%Seats+/–
AlignmentGolda Meir46.256−7
GahalMenachem Begin21.7260
MafdalHaim-Moshe Shapira9.712+1
Agudat YisraelYitzhak-Meir Levin3.240
Independent LiberalsMoshe Kol3.24−1
National ListDavid Ben-Gurion3.14New
RakahMeir Vilner2.830
Progress and DevelopmentSeif el-Din el-Zoubi2.120
PAIKalman Kahana1.920
Cooperation and BrotherhoodDiyab Obeid1.420
MeriUri Avnery1.22+1
Free CentreShmuel Tamir1.22New
MakiMoshe Sneh1.110
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after
Golda Meir
Alignment
Golda Meir
Alignment
Counting of the election results
Counting of the election results
A voter in the elections
A voter in the elections
Entrance to a voting booth for the municipal elections, which were held simultaneously
Entrance to a voting booth for the municipal elections, which were held simultaneously

Parliament factions edit

The table below lists the parliamentary factions represented in the 6th Knesset.

NameIdeologySymbolLeader1965 resultSeats at 1968
dissolution
Votes (%)Seats
LaborSocial democracy
Labor Zionism
אתGolda Meir36.7%
45 / 120
54 / 120
GahalNational liberalismחלMenachem Begin21.3%
26 / 120
20 / 120
MafdalReligious ZionismבHaim-Moshe Shapira8.9%
11 / 120
11 / 120
RafiSocial democracyכאMoshe Dayan7.9%
10 / 120
0 / 120
MapamLabor Zionism
Socialism
מMeir Ya'ari6.6%
8 / 120
8 / 120
Free CentreLiberalismטShmuel Tamir-
0 / 120
6 / 120
Independent LiberalsLiberalismלעMoshe Kol3.8%
5 / 120
5 / 120
Agudat YisraelReligious conservatismגYitzhak-Meir Levin3.3%
4 / 120
4 / 120
RakahCommunism
Socialism
וMeir Vilner2.3%
3 / 120
3 / 120
Poalei Agudat YisraelReligious conservatismדKalman Kahana1.9%
2 / 120
2 / 120
Progress and DevelopmentArab satellite listראSeif el-Din el-Zoubi1.8%
2 / 120
2 / 120
Arab List for Bedouin and VillagersArab satellite listיאDiyab Obeid1.3%
2 / 120
2 / 120
MeriSocialismשUri Avnery1.2%
1 / 120
1 / 120
MakiCommunismקShmuel Mikunis1.1%
1 / 120
1 / 120
National ListSocial liberalismעמDavid Ben-Gurion-
0 / 120
1 / 120

Results edit

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Alignment632,03546.2156−7
Gahal296,29421.66260
National Religious Party133,2389.74121
Agudat Yisrael44,0023.2240
Independent Liberals43,9333.214−1
National List42,6543.124New
Rakah38,8272.8430
Progress and Development28,0462.0520
Poalei Agudat Yisrael24,9681.8320
Cooperation and Brotherhood19,9431.4620
HaOlam HaZeh – Koah Hadash16,8531.2321
Free Centre16,3931.202New
Maki15,7121.1510
List for the Land of Israel7,5910.560New
Peace List5,1380.3800
Young Israel2,1160.1500
Total1,367,743100.001200
Valid votes1,367,74395.78
Invalid/blank votes60,2384.22
Total votes1,427,981100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,748,71081.66
Source: Israel Democracy Institute

Aftermath edit

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 three MKs changing parties; Meir Avizohar left the National List in 1972 to sit as an independent, before joining the Alignment the following year; Avner Shaki left the National Religious Party in 1972 and sat as an independent; and Shalom Cohen left HaOlam HaZeh – Koah Hadash in 1972.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p125 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
  2. ^ Mergers and Splits Among Parliamentary Groups Knesset

External links edit