Key facts about Israel's election

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
Saturday, March 25, 2006 · Last updated 9:30 a.m. PT
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Some facts about Israel's national elections Tuesday:
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ISRAEL:

Population: 7 million (76 percent Jewish, 20 percent Arab)

Eligible voters: 5,014,622. 2003 turnout: 67.8 percent
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AT STAKE: The 120-member Knesset, or parliament. Voters choose party lists, not individuals. Seats are allocated according to each party's percentage of the vote.
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WHO'S RUNNING: Thirty-one parties. Key ones are Kadima, formed in November by Ariel Sharon to set Israel's final borders; Sharon's former Likud, now led by Benjamin Netanyahu, a former prime minister who takes a hard line against the Palestinians; and Labor, headed by former union chief Amir Peretz, who favors a peace deal with the Palestinians and a more equitable economy.

A party must receive at least 2 percent of votes cast to get in to parliament.

In the 2003 election, 28 parties ran and 13 won seats.
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FORMING A GOVERNMENT: No party has ever won an outright majority of 61 seats, and the country has always been governed by a coalition. Within seven days of the April 5 publication of official results, the president appoints the person most likely to form a coalition - usually the head of the largest party. That person has six weeks to present a government to parliament and is sworn in as prime minister.
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KEEPING UP: TV stations are expected to release preliminary results and exit polls immediately after polls close at 3 p.m. EST.