Election season in Israel has officially begun, and the 25th Knesset will become the first time since 1988 that elections have been held after a full four-year term.
Here are the important dates you need to know in the lead-up to the big day.
July 17: Knesset dissolves
On Friday, the 25th Knesset will dissolve, ending its term. This does not mean that no one will be working, as Knesset members must continue to serve until the first session of the newly elected Knesset takes place.
Similarly, the government will continue to serve until a new one is established, even if that takes longer than forming a Knesset.
July 19: Final day for civil servants to resign if they wish to run for Knesset
July 19, which is 100 days before the election, is the last day for senior civil servants to resign from duty if they wish to run for the 26th Knesset.
By law, civil servants - state employees governed by the Civil Service Commission, such as employees of government ministries and agencies, police officers, and state prosecutors - are restricted from running for Knesset while civilly employed, as well as publicly attacking or insulting the Knesset or government through media or public forums.
July 20, July 26, August 4: Major parties hold primaries
Three prominent Israeli parties have confirmed they will hold primaries ahead of the general election.
Yair Golan’s Democrats party will hold primaries on July 20, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party will hold primaries on July 26, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud will hold primaries on August 4.
Only registered party members are eligible to vote in primaries, and the results will determine the order of the parties’ final lists in the general election.
September 9: Final day to submit completed party lists to the Central Elections Committee
On September 9, all parties intending to run in the election for the 26th Knesset must have submitted finalized party lists to the Central Elections Committee, allowing voters to know the order of party members.
This party list dictates the order in which candidates will join the Knesset in correspondence with the number of mandates won in the election.
For example, if a party received one mandate, only the party leader would have a seat in the Knesset. If the party received two mandates, the party leader and the person listed second on the list would have seats in the Knesset, and so on.
October 13: Election campaign broadcasts begin on television and radio
Under Israeli election law, campaign broadcasts are only allowed to air in the 21 days immediately preceding the election.
Before this, parties typically run ads on social media platforms such as YouTube, X/Twitter, or Instagram. However, these ads are paid for by individual campaigns and may not be shown on Israeli TV or radio outside of the allotted three weeks.
During the official window for election broadcasts, content is produced by the parties but aired as official election programming, and time for the content is allocated among parties according to statutory formulas.
While the base formula allows every party the same amount of time, even if it's brand new, parties represented in the outgoing Knesset receive additional airtime based on the number of MKs they currently have.
October 20: Elections officially begin, as Israel's diplomatic missions abroad begin to vote
On October 20, Israel’s diplomatic missions abroad begin casting their votes.
This is not open to all Israelis living abroad, as the state does not allow absentee voting for the general population.
Early voting for Israelis abroad is intended for embassy employees and their families, military officials stationed overseas, and representatives of national institutions serving abroad under the law.
October 27: The big day! General elections for 26th Knesset take place across Israel
The election will be held on October 27, with polling booths being opened across the country throughout the day.
Election day is considered a national holiday, though public transport will continue to operate normally.
Most polling stations will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., with smaller communities, hospitals, and prisons staying open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
However, if you arrive at a polling station and are still in line when it closes, you are still entitled to vote so long as you remain in line.
November 4, November 18: Publication of official election results
On November 4, after ensuring time for all votes from abroad to arrive and be counted, the official results of the 26th election will be confirmed.
Once results are shared, appeals to the results can be submitted until November 18.
An appeal can be submitted by any member of the Central Elections Committee or a Regional Elections Committee, any party represented in the outgoing Knesset, any individual MK, any approved candidate or candidate list that participated in the election - even those that failed to cross the electoral threshold - and the attorney-general.