The Importance of Accepting Election Results
As Israel prepares for an upcoming election, the most positive outcome that could arise is a consensus that this time, the results will be respected. This means that the party or individual who wins will be allowed to govern, and those in the opposition will accept the results and move forward. On the surface, this should not be a difficult request. After all, that is how democracies function: elections are held, one side wins, and the other loses. In healthy democracies, the losing side accepts the results and allows the winners to govern, as the results reflect the people's will.
Unfortunately, there are growing concerns that this may not happen again in Israel. A May poll conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute found that while 65% of Israelis indicate they will accept the election results, the ideological breakdown was quite revealing.
Among right-wing and center-right respondents, nearly half described a potential loss as "regrettable, but life goes on," while another 30% said they would fully respect the majority’s decision.
However, the numbers among left-wing respondents were significantly different. An impressive 81% of left-wing respondents stated that an electoral defeat would be "intolerable," with 62% of the center-left expressing the same sentiment. These figures are concerning.
Each political party has the opportunity to persuade the public during the campaign. However, once the votes are counted, that should be the end of the story. Election results should not signal the start of a new era, but rather the beginning of a period where the winning side can govern according to its principles and coalition agreements.
The Impact of Recent Political History
Unfortunately, Israel's recent history has shown otherwise. Election results no longer mark the start of a new stage in which the winning side governs in accordance with its principles. Instead, they often become the opening shot in the next election campaign.
This situation became particularly evident after the last elections and the formation of the current government. From day one, the opposition began trying to dismantle the coalition, labeling it illegitimate and organizing large protests, making the process of governance almost impossible.
Until October 7, when the intensity of domestic discord eased somewhat, the nation came together to fight back against the enemy. However, the opposition, the Left, the Kaplan Street movement, and the anti-Netanyahu camp did not invent the concept of delegitimizing the victorious side. They do not have a monopoly on this approach.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud also engaged in similar tactics after Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid formed a government in 2021. They too deemed that government illegitimate and worked tirelessly to bring it down, without giving it a chance to govern.
The objective in both cases was the same: to delegitimize the government, weaken it, and eventually bring it down. The only real difference was the arena in which these efforts were carried out.
The Role of Political Strategies
Netanyahu and the Likud focused their efforts within the Knesset, as the governing coalition had a very slim margin. All they needed to do was convince a few dissenters, such as Idit Silman and Amichai Chikli, to switch sides to bring it down.
However, when Netanyahu formed a coalition in 2022, it was based on 64 relatively disciplined seats. The opposition realized that bringing down the government from within parliament was not feasible. Therefore, they turned to the streets, believing that was the only way to achieve their goal.
In the end, the anti-government protest movement failed in its primary objective, as the current government, despite the odds, will either complete its full four-year term or go to elections shortly before then. Nevertheless, the atmosphere created suggested that this government and its decisions were illegitimate, even though it was democratically elected.
One would have hoped that the country had learned from these experiences and recognized that frustrating the elected government's ability to govern through any means is unhealthy. However, the JPPI poll indicates that this is not the case.
A Call for Respect and Unity
As the campaign season begins, competing parties will all claim that their top priority is the country's well-being. If this is truly the case, they should pledge that, regardless of whether they are in the coalition or the opposition, they will accept the results and allow the prime minister and his cabinet to lead the country through the challenges it faces.
This does not mean blindly supporting every decision. It means accepting the will of the people and respecting the direction the public, through the ballot box, has indicated it wants the country to take.
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