Following the right and left mergers, only 8 factions have a practical chance of entering the 23rd Knesset • The lowest number of factions to date - 9 - achieved in the last elections

• This time - most of them will be left out // Photo: Yossi Zeliger

Even before the elections for the 23rd Knesset, it can be said with certainty that the number of factions in the new Knesset will be the smallest since the establishment of the state. Only eight factions have a real chance of passing the blocking percentage and gaining representation in the Knesset, due to the mergers in the right-wing factions (the new right, the Jewish Home and the National Union) and the left-wing parties (Labor, Bridge and Meretz).

Netanyahu: "Immunity is a cornerstone of democracy" // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon

To date, the smallest number of Knesset-winning factions has been after the September 22nd Knesset elections, when only 9 factions will be represented in the Knesset. After the 21st Knesset elections (April 2019), 11 factions will be presented to the Knesset, after the 20th Knesset elections (April 2015) there will be 10 factions in the Knesset, in the 19th Knesset elections (2013), 12 factions will be presented in the Knesset. After the 17th and 18th Knesset elections.

Intentionally, these are factions and not parties because some factions are made up of several parties, such as "truth" that consists of work, bridge and Meretz. The joint list is also made up of several parties (Hadash, Prime Minister, Balad and TPO).

In the elections for the 23rd Knesset, a total of 30 lists will be contested, of which there is a real chance of passing the blocking rate, which stands at 3.25% for only eight factions. That means that 22 other lists have no real chance of crossing the block this time (about 144,000 votes in the last election).