Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday will inform the parliament's speaker that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White alliance head Benny Gantz failed to build a unity government, as their mandates had ended at midnight, Israeli media reported
JERUSALEM (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2019) Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Thursday will inform the parliament's speaker that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White alliance head Benny Gantz failed to build a unity government, as their mandates had ended at midnight, Israeli media reported.
Gantz said late on Wednesday that he had officially returned the mandate to Rivlin, as he had been unable to form the government.
Rivlin will notify Knesset Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein on Gantz and Netanyahu's failure to form the government and enter a 21-day period during which any member of the Knesset, which comprises an absolute majority of 61 lawmakers, will have an opportunity to become prime minister, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported.
According to Israeli law, any member who wins a parliamentary majority during the period, which will end on December 11, will be appointed as prime minister. If no majority is gained, the law requires that the Knesset be dissolved, and Israel will be forced to make arrangements for a third election campaign.
After the first Knesset elections in April, Netanyahu had the opportunity to form a new government coalition with the support of the largest number of elected deputies, but he failed to assemble a coalition of a parliamentary majority.
The second election in September saw Gantz pull slightly ahead of the current prime minister, but his party was still short of a majority. Amid Gantz's unsuccessful efforts, the right to form the government can be granted to any deputy who is able to unite 61 parliamentarians into one coalition.
