At stake in this election:

• 120 seats in the Knesset

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Moshe KATZAV *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Ariel SHARON
• Assembly: Israel has a unicameral Knesset with 120 seats.

* The president in Israel is largely a ceremonial role and is elected by the Knesset.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 7-year term.
• The Prime Minister is designated by the president to serve a 4-year term.**
• In the Knesset 120 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.***

** After parliamentary elections, the president will usually select a prime minister that he/she feels has the best possibility of forming a new government.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Likud Party
  • Leader: Ariel SHARON
  • Seats won in this election: 38
  • Seats won in last election: 19
• Party: Labor Party**
  • Leader: Amram MITZNA
  • Seats won in this election: 19
  • Seats won in last election: 25
• Party: Shinui Party
  • Leader: Tommy LAPID
  • Seats won in this election: 15
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Shas
  • Leader: Eliyahu YISHAI
  • Seats won in this election: 11
  • Seats won in last election: 17
• Party: National Union
  • Leader: Benyamin ELON
  • Seats won in this election: 7
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Party: Meretz
  • Leader: Yossi SARID
  • Seats won in this election: 6
  • Seats won in last election: 10
• Party: National Religious Party
  • Leader: Yitzhak LEVY
  • Seats won in this election: 6
  • Seats won in last election: 5
• Party: United Torah Judaism
  • Leader: Meir PORUSH
  • Seats won in this election: 5
  • Seats won in last election: 5
• Party: Hadash
  • Leader: Muhammad BARAKA
  • Seats won in this election: 3
  • Seats won in last election: 3
• Party: Am Ehad
  • Leader: Amir PERETZ
  • Seats won in this election: 3
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: National Democratic Assembly (Balad)
  • Leader: Azmi BISHARA
  • Seats won in this election: 3
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
• Party: Yisrael BaAliyah
  • Leader: Natan SHARANSKY
  • Seats won in this election: 2
  • Seats won in last election: 6
• Party: United Arab List
  • Leader: Abdulmalik DEHAMSHE
  • Seats won in this election: 2
  • Seats won in last election: 5

Population and Voter Registration:

• Population: 6,689,700 (2003)
• Registered Voters: 4,720,074 (2003)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 3,390,836 (2003)

·         Is Israel a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Israel ratified CEDAW: Yes (3 October 1991)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 18 (following the 2003 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 18 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is Ireland a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Ireland ratified CRPD: Yes (28 September 2012)

·         Population with a disability: 1,003,455 (est.)