Overshadowed by the coronavirus crisis, Knesset party representatives will arrive throughout the day to President Reuven Rivlin’s official residence to say who they recommend for prime minister following the March 2 elections.
Representatives for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party will arrive at 10:30 a.m.
The rival Blue and White party will arrive at 11:15 a.m. to recommend its leader, Benny Gantz. After that, at 12 p.m., it will be the Joint List alliance of Arab and Arab-majority parties, parts of which could recommend Gantz.
Immediately afterwards — no time has been given — the president will meet representatives of the Shas ultra-Orthodox party.
After a break, the second Haredi party, United Torah Judaism, will arrive at 5:45 p.m. followed by Labor-Gesher-Meretz at 6:30, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu at 7:15 and Yamina at 8.
Netanyahu is expected to get the backing of 58 Knesset members in his right-wing religious bloc, three short of the necessary majority of 61 in the 120-member parliament.
But he is likely to be the first tasked to form a government since Gantz is reportedly guaranteed to get the backing of only 46 MKs, with most of the rest possibly recommending him and possibly recommending nobody.
Gesher leader Orly Levi-Abekasis has reportedly asked to submit a recommendation independently from her Labor-Gesher-Meretz party, and it isn’t known yet how many of the Joint List lawmakers will support recommending Gantz.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/parties-to-meet-rivlin-and-recommend-a-prime-minister-a-full-timetable/.
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