Israel elections 2019 at a glance: Gantz vs Netanyahu

Author: Fidelis Mbah / Source: Al Jazeera

About 5.88 million eligible voters are set to vote in the Israeli elections on April 9 to elect a party that will lead the next Israeli government.

Fourteen main parties are competing for 120 seats in the 21st Knesset (parliament).

A party has to secure a majority of 61 seats out of 120 in order to form a government and choose a leader to become prime minister.

Israel has seen particularly high turn-out rates in the past, with 71.8 percent of eligible voters casting their ballots in the 2015 election.

Israel’s incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right-wing Likud party, is seeking a fifth term in office.

According to polls, it’s a tight race against his main rival Benny Gantz, a former army chief who leads the centrist Blue and White party, a party merged in alliance with former finance minister and TV personality Yair Lapid.

Here’s what you need to know about Israel’s elections:

Main contenders

Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, 69

If re-elected on April 9, Netanyahu could become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and the first sitting prime minister to be indicted on corruption charges.

A corruption investigation involving one case of bribery and two cases of fraud and breach of trust culminated in February 2019 when Israel’s attorney general announced that he intends to indict Netanyahu.

But Netanyahu dismissed the allegations, calling it a “witch-hunt” concocted by his opponents.

Despite the charges, most younger Israelis prefer Netanyahu for prime minister over rival Benny Gantz, according to a pre-election poll by the Israel Democracy Institute.

Netanyahu currently leads the most right-wing…

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