Coalition leaders set deadline on advancing Knesset dissolution

Senior coalition leaders are due to meet Tuesday evening to decide whether to speed up the Knesset’s dissolution, after threats from the ultra-Orthodox parties and pressure from coalition ministers to move ahead this week. According to the current assessment, the next election is expected to be pushed up to October 20, 2026, about a week earlier than the original date.

Advancing the dissolution is being considered partly to stop contentious ultra-Orthodox legislation that the government fears could hurt it politically. That includes bills on draft exemptions for draft dodgers, kosher supervision, daycare subsidies, and Torah study. Coalition leaders also want to avoid the passage of other disputed bills, including items tied to the judicial overhaul, such as splitting the attorney general’s role and measures to weaken the media.

The dissolution bill has already passed its first reading in the Knesset Committee and still must go through committee discussions before returning for second and third readings. Only then will the final election date be set. The article notes that the formal process to dissolve the 25th Knesset began about a month ago, when the bill passed preliminary and first readings with support from more than 100 MKs across factions.

Acting Knesset Elections Committee director general Adv. Dean Libna said the election authority needs at least 83 days to prepare, even if the vote is held in less than 90 days. Because an October 20 election would require notice by July 29, the Knesset now has a little over a month to decide. If it wanted a September 15 election, it would have only two days left, a scenario that now appears unlikely.