Abdel Raouf Arnaout
12 December 2022•Update: 12 December 2022
JERUSALEM
The right-wing Likud Party and the opposition agreed on Monday to postpone the election of a temporary speaker for the Knesset (Israel’s parliament) until Tuesday, according to Israeli media.
Israeli public broadcaster KAN said the move came after opposition parties threatened to obstruct the vote.
The election was scheduled to take place on Monday evening.
According to Haaretz newspaper, the Yesh Atid Party led by outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid concluded an agreement with the Likud Party to postpone the vote until Tuesday, although the Likud has already submitted 61 signatures.
After difficult deliberations, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu chose to nominate Likud’s Knesset member, Yariv Levin, as interim speaker, to replace Mickey Levy of the Yesh Atid Party, the Haaretz noted.
The list of candidates for the post also includes David Amsalem, Amir Ohana, Ofir Akunis and Danny Danon.
Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc secured an outright majority in the Knesset in the elections that took place early last month.
On Sunday, the 28-day deadline given to Netanyahu to form a government expired, with President Isaac Herzog agreeing to extend the deadline for an additional 10 days at Netanyahu's request.
Under the law, the deadline can be extended for an additional 14 days. In the event of failure, the Israeli president assigns another deputy to form the government.
*Ikram Imane Kouachi contributed to this report
