Israel Remains Among Countries With Most Frequent Elections Despite Recent Parliamentary Term Completion
Although Israel's current Knesset completed its full legal term, the country still ranks near the bottom in election frequency among parliamentary democracies. Between 2019 and 2022, Israelis voted five times, a period described as a political "trauma" that takes time to recover from. Even before this turbulent period, Israel was not among the most politically stable OECD parliamentary democracies, ranking seventh from the bottom with elections every 3.3 years on average since 1996.
Following the five elections in three years, Israel dropped to last place among 25 OECD parliamentary democracies, holding elections every 2.4 years on average. After a full four-year term between the 2022 and 2026 elections, Israel slightly improved its ranking to second to last, surpassing only Greece, with elections every 2.5 years on average. This calculation excludes the special prime ministerial election in 2001; including it lowers the average interval to 2.3 years.
The article notes that frequent elections are common in many parliamentary democracies due to the system's inherent flexibility, unlike fixed terms in presidential systems. Some countries like Finland, Sweden, and Estonia rarely dissolve parliament early, while others such as the Netherlands, Portugal, and Japan have held multiple elections in recent years. Israel's election frequency, while high, is not unique in this context.
Researcher Ofer Kenig from the Israel Democracy Institute's political reform program is cited, emphasizing the ongoing challenges of political stability in Israel. The article also references comparative data on election intervals among OECD parliamentary democracies, excluding countries like New Zealand and Australia where elections occur every three years or less.
