President of Israel - Election

Election

The president is elected by an absolute majority in the Knesset. If no candidate has received an absolute majority by the third round of voting, a simple majority is sufficient. When electing the president, Knesset members vote by secret ballot. The president is elected to a term of seven years, and cannot be re-elected for a second term. Until recently, the president was elected for a five-year term, and was allowed to serve up to two terms in office.

Any Israeli citizen who is a resident of the State is eligible to run for President. The office falls vacant upon completion of a term, resignation, or the decision of three-quarters of the Knesset to remove the president on grounds of misconduct or incapacity. Presidential tenure is not keyed to that of the Knesset in order to assure continuity in government and the nonpartisan character of the office. There is no vice president in the Israeli governmental system. If the president is temporarily incapacitated or leaves office, the speaker of the Knesset becomes acting president.

The first presidential election took place on 16 February 1949, and the winner was Chaim Weizmann. The second took place in 1951, as at the time presidential terms were linked to the length of the Knesset term (the first Knesset lasted only two years). Another election took place the following year after Weizmann's death.

Since then, elections have been held in 1957, 1962, 1963 (an early election following Yitzhak Ben-Zvi's death), 1968, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2000 and 2007. Six elections (1951, 1957, 1962, 1968, 1978 and 1988) have taken place with no opposition candidate, although a vote was still held.