Israel's Upcoming Knesset Elections to Cost State Budget 4 Billion Shekels

Israel's 26th Knesset elections, scheduled in approximately 40 days, are projected to cost the state budget around 4 billion shekels. This marks the first time in seven years that elections will occur on schedule, as the current Knesset has served a full four-year term since the last vote in November 2022. The extended term of the current parliament has helped avoid the significant expenses associated with frequent snap elections, a situation Israel experienced with four elections in less than two years between April 2019 and March 2021.

The total cost encompasses economic damages, including increased labor costs due to a paid day off for workers, partial business shutdowns, and expenses for the Central Elections Committee and political party financing. Calculations, based on average wages and workforce data, estimate the economic losses from the paid holiday alone at approximately 2.68 billion shekels. This figure accounts for 2.54 million private sector employees and 1.58 million public sector employees, with businesses expected to incur 1.82 billion shekels in labor costs and the public sector 86 million shekels.

Additional costs include the Central Elections Committee's operational budget, which has risen to 111 million shekels for the current year, an increase from 81 million shekels last year. The state budget allocated for elections and party financing was initially 976 million shekels but was adjusted to 1.027 billion shekels. Each incumbent Knesset member receives 1.835 million shekels in funding, with an 80% advance payment.

Compared to the previous elections in November 2022, which cost approximately 3 billion shekels, the current election's higher cost is attributed to increased wages, inflation, and an expanded budget for the election committee. The 25th Knesset elections saw business losses of 2.14 billion shekels and a combined budget of 738 million shekels for the election committee and party financing.