The general elections budget - assuming two rounds of elections for prime minister - is NIS 420 million.
The Ministry of Finance allocated a much lower amount than required to the parties and Central Elections Committee for financing their expenses, and will be obliged to make up the difference of NIS 230 million nearer the elections date. Some of this amount is for interim financing to new parties, until election results are known. The low allocation is due to the reserve squeeze. Central Elections Committee chair Judge Eliyahu Matza warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the matter in a letter, in which he claimed the Budgets Commissioner was acting in contravention of the law.
The parties’ elections financing allocation amounts to NIS 83 million, NIS 9 million less than the NIS 94 million required to finance advance payments, due under the law only to parties with representation in the outgoing Knesset.
Assuming two rounds of prime ministerial elections, the elections budget will amount to NIS 420 million, of which NIS 180 million will be designated for the parties’ elections financing (NIS 160 million for the first round, and NIS 20 million for the second). These amounts were not included in the 1999 State Budget, which did not take into account that the general elections would be brought forward. Meeting the additional requirements will necessitate further cutbacks in the government’s budget.
Published by Israel's Business Arena April 5, 1999