Israeli elections under FPTP

[RogueBeaver]

What would the results look like? OTL's can be found on the Wiki.

As a bonus: their current PR system, but with a 10% entry threshold.

Double bonus: draw up electoral maps.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

A good basis (but it's JUST a basis) for calculating FPTP is to square the number then turn it into seats.

example:

Party A - 60%
Party B - 40%
20 seats

60*60=3600
40*40=1600
sum: 5200
3600/5200=.692
.692*20 = 13.8
round to 14

Party A 14
Party B 6

It *generally* works as a *basic* calculation for *most* elections in *most* countries.

Compare the math to elections in countries that DO use FPTP to see examples. Note that this often under-represents parties that gain small vote numbers.

[Vosem]

A good basis (but it's JUST a basis) for calculating FPTP is to square the number then turn it into seats.

example:

Party A - 60%
Party B - 40%
20 seats

60*60=3600
40*40=1600
sum: 5200
3600/5200=.692
.692*20 = 13.8
round to 14

Party A 14
Party B 6

It *generally* works as a *basic* calculation for *most* elections in *most* countries.

Compare the math to elections in countries that DO use FPTP to see examples. Note that this often under-represents parties that gain small vote numbers.

Extremely interesting, to the extent that I just worked out the 1949 elections and am about to continue in the 1950s. So far, a working majority for Mapai.

1949:
Mapai (David Ben-Gurion) 83
Mapam (Meir Ya'ari) 14
United Religious Front (Yehuda Leib Maimon) 10
Herut (Menachem Begin) 8
General Zionist (Israel Rokach) 2
Progressive Party (Pinchas Rosen) 1
Sephardim and Oriental Communities (Bechor-Shalom Sheetrit) 1
Maki (Shmuel Mikunis) 1

Also, in real life during the First Knesset 2/14 Herut members left to form their own party, the 'Bergson Group'. 1/7 of 8 rounds down to 1 member; of the two, Ari Jabotinsky was the more senior, so I'm assuming a one-member party would have been founded under his name. Other party switches round down to zero; this is the only one that would still have occurred in this world.

[Vosem]

Several things with 1951:

First, the United Religious Front broke up in real life into four parties, all of which agreed to contest the election separately but to remain, in the Knesset, one party until the 2nd Knesset. In real life, all 4 continued in the Knesset, but with FPTP, only one, Hapoel HaMizrachi, had enough strength to make it in, so I'm counting HHM as the direct successor of the URF.

Second, this time it added up to 119, not 120. I'm not going to go through that again, so if something like this happened, I'm just going to give the remaining seats to whichever party lost the most (if there's a tie, or a tie is created by giving losing parties seats, split them equally). Counting HHM as the successor of the URF, they lost the most, so they gain one extra seat. And so here are the results (showing all parties represented in the preceding Knesset even if they won no seats, or in one case (the Bergson Group) did not participate:


1951:
Mapai (David Ben-Gurion) 85 (+2)
General Zionist (Israel Rokach) 17 (+15)
Mapam (Meir Ya'ari) 9 (-5)
Hapoel HaMizrachi (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 4 (-6)
Herut (Menachem Begin) 3 (-4)
Maki (Shmuel Mikunis) 1 (-)
Progressive Party 1 (Pinchas Rosen) (-)
Sephardim and Oriental Communities (Eliyahu Eliashar) 0 (-1)
Bergson Group (Ari Jabotinsky) 0 (-1)

In real life, several party switches ensued during the Second Knesset. 3/15 members of Mapam (or, in this world, 2), led by Moshe Sneh, formed their own party, the Left Faction; this party then broke up, with 1/3 members rejoining Mapam and 2/3 joining Maki; this comes out to 1 member rejoining Mapam and 1 member joining Maki. Then, 2/13 members formed a party (in this world, 1 person) called Ahdut ha Avoda before joining Mapai. Then, 4/11 members left (in this world, 3) and formed a party called Ahdut ha Avoda-Poale Zion, which remained its own party; in real life, it had no leader, but of the four, only Yisrael Bar-Yehuda would ever join the Israeli Cabinet, so I've rather arbitrarily made him the leader. Also, in real life Sephardim and Oriental Communities disbanded and joined Mapai, but in this world it was voted out of the Knesset in 1951 anyway.

After this confusing series of events, this was what the Knesset looked like:
Mapai (David Ben-Gurion) 86 (+1)
General Zionist (Israel Rokach) 17 (-)
Mapam (Meir Ya'ari) 4 (-5)
Hapoel HaMizrachi (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 4 (-)
Herut (Menachem Begin) 3 (-)
Ahdut HaAvoda-Poale Zion (Yisrael Bar-Yehuda) 3 (+3)
Maki (Shmuel Mikunis) 2 (+1)
Progressive Party (Pinchas Rosen) 1 (-)

[danny]

A good basis (but it's JUST a basis) for calculating FPTP is to square the number then turn it into seats.

While this might work well between the big parties (Likud, Labour, and lately Kadima), it would not amongst the other parties as FPTP favours parties with a concentrated majority in certain areas that are large enough for a district, and this would cause some parties votes to hold up better others. For instance, Meretz would be wiped out while UTJ would be fine.

[danny]

United Religious Front (no clear leader - I think Moshe Unna was 1st on list) 10

Actually Yehuda Leib Maimon was number 1 on the list, although with the way the party was structured, it really had 4 different leaders

[Vosem]

In 1955, first off, the Religious Torah Front makes it into the Knesset; it was in real life a joining of two minor parties. On their own, they're both too weak to make it in, but together they come back in. The National Religious Front was Hapoel HaMizrachi merging with a party too weak to make it into the Knesset in this world, so it's counted as the direct descendent of Hapoel HaMizrachi. Also, Ahdut HaAvoda ran without a leader, but I am continuing to count Yisrael Bar-Yehuda as their leader, because he was the most prominent Cabinet member in real life in the election's aftermath. Also, again this added up 119, so I added one seat to the General Zionists, who lost the most.

1955:
Mapai (David Ben-Gurion) 80 (-6)
Herut (Menachem Begin) 11 (+8)
General Zionist (Israel Rokach) 9 (-8)
National Religious Front (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 6 (+2)
Ahdut HaAvoda-Poale Zion (Yisrael Bar-Yehuda) 5 (+2)
Mapam (Meir Ya'ari) 4 (-)
Religious Torah Front (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 2 (+2)
Maki (Shmuel Mikunis) 2 (-)
Progressive Party (Pinchas Rosen) 1 (-)

In real life, the Third Knesset was the most stable one in Israeli history; indeed, all changes in party structure were so minor that none occur in this world.

[Vosem]

United Religious Front (no clear leader - I think Moshe Unna was 1st on list) 10

Actually Yehuda Leib Maimon was number 1 on the list, although with the way the party was structured, it really had 4 different leaders

I understand it was really four different parties merging in one list, but Wikipedia is rather unhelpful in this regard. I'll put Maimon as the leader, if only because someone has to be leader. Thank you very much for your help!...and this'll probably be it for me today, I'll pick up again later.

[danny]

United Religious Front (no clear leader - I think Moshe Unna was 1st on list) 10

Actually Yehuda Leib Maimon was number 1 on the list, although with the way the party was structured, it really had 4 different leaders

I understand it was really four different parties merging in one list, but Wikipedia is rather unhelpful in this regard. I'll put Maimon as the leader, if only because someone has to be leader. Thank you very much for your help!...and this'll probably be it for me today, I'll pick up again later.

Yes, the Hebrew wikipedia was more helpful in this regard.

[Vosem]

In 1959, the National Religious Party decided it was a Party, not a Front. Also, Maki was voted out of the Knesset. Also, again it added up to 119, not 120, and as the General Zionists lost the most, the last seat was added to them, unusually putting them ahead of Mapam who got more votes than the GZs. Also, although Ahdut HaAvoda had no leader, I replaced Yisrael Bar-Yehuda with Yitzhak Ben-Aharon; YBY was the most powerful member after 1955, and YBA after 1959, so as the most prominent members they are counted as leaders.

1959:
Mapai (David Ben-Gurion) 91 (+11)
Herut (Menachem Begin) 12 (+1)
National Religious Party (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 6 (-)
General Zionist (Yosef Sapir) 4 (-5)
Mapam (Meir Ya'ari) 3 (-1)
Ahdut HaAvoda-Poale Zion (Yitzhak Ben-Aharon) 2 (-3)
Religious Torah Front (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 1 (-1)
Progressive Party (Pinchas Rosen) 1 (-)
Maki (Shmuel Mikunis) 0 (-2)

The only change in the aftermath of the election was the merger of the GZs and the Progressive Party to form the Liberal Party, with 5 total MKs, under the leadership of Peretz Bernstein.

[Vosem]

In real life, between 1959 and 1961, the Religious Torah Front (RTF) split into two parties, but in this world only Agudat Yisrael was represented, so Agudat Yisrael's total is compared to the RTF. Also, Maki reentered the Knesset in this world in 1961 after a two-year absence. Also, Ahdut HaAvoda, which has no leader, was marked with leader Yigal Allon, who became the most prominent member after the election.

1961:
Mapai (David Ben-Gurion) 79 (-12)
Herut (Menachem Begin) 13 (+1)
Liberal Party (Peretz Bernstein) 13 (+8)
National Religious Party (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 6 (-)
Mapam (Meir Ya'ari) 4 (+1)
Ahdut HaAvoda-Poale Zion (Yigal Allon) 3 (+1)
Maki (Shmuel Mikunis) 1 (+1)
Agudat Yisrael (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 1 (-)

In the aftermath of the 1961 election, in real life, 8/42 Mapai MKs left the party to form Rafi (15 in this world). Rafi was led by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion; Mapai replaced him with new leader Levi Eshkol. Then, Herut and the Liberal Party merged under Menachem Begin's leadership to form Gahal; this group had 26 MPs. Then, 7/34 members of Gahal (in this world, 5 MKs) left Gahal to form the Independent Liberals, under the leadership of Pinchas Rosen. Other changes did not involve enough MKs to still happen in this world. After these changes, this is what the Knesset looked like:

Mapai (Levi Eshkol) 64
Gahal (Menachem Begin) 21
Rafi (David Ben-Gurion) 15
National Religious Party (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 6
Independent Liberals (Pinchas Rosen) 5
Mapam (Meir Ya'ari) 4
Ahdut HaAvoda-Poale Zion (Yigal Allon) 3
Maki (Shmuel Mikunis) 1
Agudat Yisrael (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 1

[Vosem]

The election of 1965 saw Mapai and Ahdut HaAvoda-Poale Zion unite to form a new party, the Alignment -- this would only take effect in the Knesset after the results of the elections, unlike the merger of Herut and the Liberals. Meanwhile, Maki was thrown out of the Knesset. Since Teddy's method produced 121 seats, the party which gained the most - the Alignment - had a seat taken away from it.

1965:
Alignment (Levi Eshkol) 79 (+12)
Gahal (Menachem Begin) 27 (+6)
National Religious Party (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 5 (-1)
Rafi (David Ben-Gurion) 4 (-11)
Mapam (Meir Ya'ari) 3 (-1)
Independent Liberals (Moshe Kol) 1 (-4)
Agudat Yisrael (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 1 (-)
Maki (Shmuel Mikunis) 0 (-1)

In the aftermath of the election, Rafi and Mapam both joined the Alignment, which then had 86 seats. In real life, 4/26 Gahal MKs left the party to find Free Centre; the same 4 MKs leave in this world, too, under the leadership of Shmuel Tamir.

Alignment (Levi Eshkol) 86
Gahal (Menachem Begin) 23
National Religious Party (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 5
Free Centre (Shmuel Tamir) 4
Independent Liberals (Moshe Kol) 1
Agudat Yisrael (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 1

[Vosem]

In 1969, parties which won 4 seats (squared to 16) ended up being 'supposed to get' 0.48 seats, which is rounded down to 0. This is 5 parties, so ultimately the result added up to 117; the Free Centre lost the most in terms of number of seats (4). After being given one seat, they and Gahal are tied at -3, so each then gain a seat; in summary, Gahal gains one extra seat and the Free Centre, two. The Independent Liberals and Agudat Yisrael are voted out of the Knesset.

1969:
Alignment (Golda Meir) 93 (+7)
Gahal (Menachem Begin) 21 (-2)
National Religious Party (Haim-Moshe Shapira) 4 (-1)
Free Centre (Shmuel Tamir) 2 (-2)
Independent Liberals (Moshe Kol) 0 (-1)
Agudat Yisrael (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 0 (-1)

None of the changes in the real-life 1969-1973 Knesset were significant to show up in this world, so the Alignment supermajority of 94-22-4 continued.

[Vosem]

In 1973, the whole thing adds up to 120, so no giving or taking away extra seats from anyone. Also, before the election Gahal and Free Centre agreed to merge, taking effect at the beginning of the next Knesset, to form Likud. The election also saw the Religious Torah Front enter Parliament.

1973:
Alignment (Golda Meir) 73 (-20)
Likud (Menachem Begin) 43 (+20)
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 3 (-1)
Religious Torah Front (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 1 (+1)

In the aftermath of the election, Alignment MK Aryeh Eliav left the party to form his 1-member party, the Independent Socialist Faction. No other changes were significant enough to still take place in this world.

[Vosem]

In 1977, the whole thing adds up to 119, so the party which lost the most (the Alignment) is allowed to gain an extra seat. Agudat Yisrael is compared to the Religious Torah Front and Left Camp of Israel is compared to the Independent Socialist Faction. The Left Camp of Israel was swept out of the Knesset while two new parties, Dash and Hadash, entered.

1977:
Likud (Menachem Begin) 67 (+24)
Alignment (Shimon Peres) 38 (-34)
Dash (Yigael Yadin) 8 (+8)
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 5 (+2)
Hadash (Meir Vilner) 1 (+1)
Agudat Yisrael (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 1 (-)
Left Camp of Israel (Aryeh Eliav) 0 (-1)

The aftermath of the first right-wing government, both in real life and in this world, was very chaotic. Likud MK Yitzhak Yitzhaky broke away to form his own one-man party, One Israel. Dash broke in half, with 4 members forming the Democratic Movement, led by Yigael Yadin, and 4 members forming Shinui, led by Amnon Rubinstein. Then, 3 more MKs left Likud to form Rafi-National List, led by Yigal Hurvitz. Then, 3 more MKs left Likud to form Tehiya, led by Geula Cohen. Then, 2 MKs from the Democratic Movement left to form Ahva, under the leadership of Shlomo Eliyahu. Then, 1 MK from Shinui defected to the Alignment. Then, 1 MK from the Alignment and 2 from Rafi-National List (including party leader Yigal Hurvitz) formed the new party Telem, led by Moshe Dayan; this necessitated the appointing of Yitzhak Peretz leader of Rafi-National List. Then, 2 Likud MKs left Likud to join Shinui. After the formation of Tehiya, Israel experienced her first hung Knesset; Begin formed an alliance with the National Religious Party and Agudat Yisrael; Telem joined the coalition as well after its formation.

After all this, these were the statistics before the 1981 elections:
Likud (Menachem Begin) 58
Alignment (Shimon Peres) 38
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 5
Shinui (Amnon Rubinstein) 5
Tehiya (Geula Cohen) 3
Telem (Moshe Dayan) 3
Democratic Movement (Yigael Yadin) 2
Ahva (Shlomo Eliyahu) 2
Hadash (Meir Vilner) 1
Agudat Yisrael (Yehuda Meir Abramowicz) 1
Rafi-National List (Yitzhak Peretz) 1
One Israel (Yitzhak Yitzhaky) 1

[Vosem]

In 1981, again it all adds up to 119, so Shinui, having lost five seats, gains an extra seat. The Knesset had 12 parties before the election, but just four -- Likud, the Alignment, the National Religious Party, and Shinui -- survived it. 1981 was also Israel's first elected hung Knesset in this world.

1981:
Likud (Menachem Begin) 60 (+2)
Alignment (Shimon Peres) 58 (+20)
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 1 (-4)
Shinui (Amnon Rubinstein) 1 (-4)
Tehiya (Geula Cohen) 0 (-3)
Telem (Moshe Dayan) 0 (-3)
Democratic Movement (Yigael Yadin) 0 (-2)
Ahva (Shlomo Eliyahu) 0 (-2)
Hadash (Meir Vilner) 0 (-1)
Agudat Yisrael (Menachem Porush) 0 (-1)
Rafi-National List (Yitzhak Peretz) 0 (-1)
One Israel (Yitzhak Yitzhaky) 0 (-1)

In the aftermath of the elections, Likud formed a coalition with the National Religious Party. This was upset when 3 MKs crossed the floor from Likud to the Alignment, giving the Alignment an outright majority before the elections of 1984; by this time, Begin had been replaced by one Yitzhak Shamir:

Alignment (Shimon Peres) 61
Likud (Yitzhak Shamir) 57
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 1
Shinui (Amnon Rubinstein) 1

[Vosem]

In 1984, it all adds up to 120, nothing is given or taken away from anybody. Shinui is voted out of the Knesset, but Tehiya and Hadash return, and the new party of Shas enters.

1984:
Alignment (Shimon Peres) 62 (+1)
Likud (Yitzhak Shamir) 54 (-3)
Tehiya (Yuval Ne'eman) 1 (+1)
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 1 (-)
Hadash (Meir Vilner) 1 (+1)
Shas (Yitzhak Peretz) 1 (+1)
Shinui (Amnon Rubinstein) 0 (-)

However, like Likud, the Alignment lost their majority quickly after winning it. 7 MKs defected to form 'Mapam', led by Yair Tzaban; then, 2 MKs formed the Arab Democratic Party under Abdulwahab Darawshe; 2 MKs formed Ratz, under Shulamit Aloni; and 2 MKs left to form Shinui, still under Amnon Rubinstein (who had been elected in a by-election as an Alignment member before promptly reforming his old party). Then, the other member of Shinui left the party to join Aloni's Ratz; then, one member of Mapam left the party and joined Hadash. During all this chaos, the Alignment and Likud had agreed to a national unity government. Before the next election, in 1988:

Likud (Yitzhak Shamir) 54
Alignment (Shimon Peres) 49
Mapam (Yair Tzaban) 6
Ratz (Shulamit Aloni) 3
Hadash (Meir Vilner) 2
Arab Democratic Party (Abdulwahab Darawshe) 2
Tehiya (Yuval Ne'eman) 1
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 1
Shas (Yitzhak Peretz) 1
Shinui (Amnon Rubinstein) 1

[RogueBeaver]

Excellent Vosem. Maybe when this is all done Danny could draw up a constituency map?

[Vosem]

In 1988, it adds up to 119, so an extra seat is given to Mapam, who lost the most; otherwise they would've been voted out of the Knesset. Shinui, Tehiya, and the Arab Democratic Party are all voted out of the Knesset, while Agudat Yisrael, voted out in 1981, returned. Again, the election returned a hung Knesset.

1988:
Likud (Yitzhak Shamir) 58 (+4)
Alignment (Shimon Peres) 56 (+7)
Shas (Yitzhak Haim Peretz) 1 (-)
Agudat Yisrael (Moshe Ze'ev Feldman) 1 (-)
Ratz (Shulamit Aloni) 1 (-2)
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 1 (-)
Hadash (Meir Wilner) 1 (-)
Mapam (Yair Tzaban) 1 (-5)
Arab Democratic Party (Abdulwahab Darawshe) 0 (-2)
Tehiya (Yuval Ne'eman) 0 (-1)
Shinui (Amnon Rubinstein) 0 (-1)

During the next Knesset, 7 Likud MKs left to form the New Liberal Party under Yitzhak Moda'i. MKs crossed the floor between the Alignment and Likud, but they cancelled each other out. Rubinstein picked up a seat for Shinui in a by-election from the Alignment; however, Shinui soon merged with Ratz and Mapam to form Meretz, under Shulamit Aloni's leadership. A right-wing coalition government was formed between Likud and the religious party; after the New Liberal Party left, briefly no one held a majority before the NLP decided to remain in government.

Before the 1992 election:
Alignment (Shimon Peres) 55
Likud (Yitzhak Shamir) 51
New Liberal Party (Yitzhak Moda'i) 7
Meretz (Shulamit Aloni) 3
Shas (Yitzhak Haim Peretz) 1
Agudat Yisrael (Moshe Ze'ev Feldman) 1
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 1
Hadash (Meir Wilner) 1

[danny]

Excellent Vosem. Maybe when this is all done Danny could draw up a constituency map?

Maybe, but only once I'm done with the real world maps which I plan on getting back to once I'm finished with some college tests.

And yeah, great work Vosem.

[Vosem]

In 1992, the whole thing adds up to 118, so 2 extra seats are given to Likud, who lost the most. 'Labor Party' is compared to 'Alignment' and 'United Torah Judaism' is compared to 'Agudat Yisrael'. Two parties -- the New Liberal Party and Hadash -- were voted out, but one new party, Tzomet, was voted into the Knesset.

1992:
Labor Party (Yitzhak Rabin) 71 (+16)
Likud (Yitzhak Shamir) 39 (-12)
Meretz (Shulamit Aloni) 5 (+2)
Tzomet (Rafael Eitan) 2 (+2)
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 1 (-)
Shas (Aryeh Deri) 1 (-)
United Torah Judaism (Avraham Yosef Shapira) 1 (-)
New Liberal Party (Yitzhak Moda'i) 0 (-7)
Hadash (Tawfiq Ziad) 0 (-1)

Several changes occurred in the election's aftermath. Three Labor MKs, led by Avigdor Kahalani, left the party to form Third Way. Then, two Likud MKs, led by David Levy, left the party to form Gesher, and Efraim Gur established his own party, Unity for the Defense of New Immigrants. Gonen Segev left Tzomet to form his own party, Yiud. Thus, before the 1996 elections, the composition of the Knesset was thus:

Labor Party (Shimon Peres) 68
Likud (Benjamin Netanyahu) 36
Meretz (Shulamit Aloni) 5
Third Way (Avigdor Kahalani) 3
Gesher (David Levy) 2
Tzomet (Rafael Eitan) 1
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 1
Shas (Aryeh Deri) 1
United Torah Judaism (Avraham Yosef Shapira) 1
Unity for the Defense of New Immigrants (Efraim Gur) 1
Yiud (Gonen Segev) 1

[Vosem]

Made some changes to leaderships. 1996 coming soon.

[Vosem]

In 1996, the whole thing adds up to 121, so the party which gained the most (Likud-Gesher-Tzomet) has a seat taken away from it. Before the election, Likud, Gesher, and Tzomet merged (to take effect after the election), merged to form Likud-Gesher-Tzomet, under Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu. Unity for the Defense of New Immigrants and Yiud were both voted out of the Knesset; Hadash reentered the Knesset, and two completely new parties -- Yisrael BaAliyah and the United Arab List -- entered the Knesset.

1996:
Labor Party (Shimon Peres) 54 (-14)
Likud-Gesher-Tzomet (Benjamin Netanyahu) 47 (+8)
Shas (Aryeh Deri) 5 (+4)
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 4 (+3)
Meretz (Yossi Sarid) 4 (-1)
Yisrael BaAliyah (Natan Sharansky) 2 (+2)
Hadash-Balad (Hashem Mahameed) 1 (+1)
United Torah Judaism (Avraham Yosef Shapira) 1 (-)
Third Way (Avigdor Kahalani) 1 (-2)
United Arab List (Abdulmalik Dehamshe) 1 (+1)
Unity for the Defense of New Immigrants (Efraim Gur) 0 (-1)
Yiud (Gonen Segev) 0 (-1)

In the aftermath of the election, 5 Labor MKs left the party to form One Nation, led by Amir Peretz. Then, 3 more Labor MKs joined with 6 Likud-Gesher-Tzomet MKs to form the Centre Party, led by Yitzhak Mordechai. Then, 4 more LGT MKs left to form Herut-The National Movement, led by Benny Begin. The shock of losing 10 MKs resulted in the LGT alliance breaking up, with 30 MKs reforming Likud (led by Netanyahu), 4 forming Gesher (led by David Levy), and 3 forming Tzomet (led by Rafael Eitan). Then, 1 National Religious Party MK, named Hanan Porat, left to form his own party, Tkuma. Then, 2 Centre Party MKs left the party to reform Shinui, led by Avraham Poraz. Then, 1 Yisrael BaAliyah MK, Yuri Stern, left the party to form Aliyah. Then, 2 Tzomet MKs left the party to form Moledet, led by Benny Elon. Thus, this Knesset was extremely chaotic, even by the standards of Israeli politics. Before the next election in 1999, party standings in the Knesset looked like this:

Labor Party (Shimon Peres) 46
Likud (Benjamin Netanyahu) 30
Centre Party (Yitzhak Mordechai) 7
Shas (Aryeh Deri) 5
One Nation (Amir Peretz) 5
Meretz (Yossi Sarid) 4
Herut-National Movement (Benny Begin) 4
Gesher (David Levy) 4
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 3
Shinui (Avraham Poraz) 2
Moledet (Benny Elon) 2
Tzomet (Rafael Eitan) 1
Yisrael BaAliyah (Natan Sharansky) 1
Hadash-Balad (Hashem Mahameed) 1
United Torah Judaism (Avraham Yosef Shapira) 1
Third Way (Avigdor Kahalani) 1
United Arab List (Abdulmalik Dehamshe) 1
Tkuma (Hanan Porat) 1
Aliyah (Yuri Stern) 1

At the beginning of the Knesset, neither Netanyahu nor Peres could successfully form a coalition, resulting in both candidates pledging whichever won a 'national primary election' between the two would become Prime Minister. Netanyahu narrowly defeated Peres in an upset, becoming Prime Minister in a national unity government, but the Knesset had become ungovernable before he called for early elections in 1999.

[Vosem]

Labor Party (Shimon Peres) 46
Likud (Benjamin Netanyahu) 30
Centre Party (Yitzhak Mordechai) 7
Shas (Aryeh Deri) 5
One Nation (Amir Peretz) 5
Meretz (Yossi Sarid) 4
Herut-National Movement (Benny Begin) 4
Gesher (David Levy) 4
National Religious Party (Zevulun Hammer) 3
Shinui (Avraham Poraz) 2
Moledet (Benny Elon) 2
Tzomet (Rafael Eitan) 1
Yisrael BaAliyah (Natan Sharansky) 1
Hadash-Balad (Hashem Mahameed) 1
United Torah Judaism (Avraham Yosef Shapira) 1
Third Way (Avigdor Kahalani) 1
United Arab List (Abdulmalik Dehamshe) 1
Tkuma (Hanan Porat) 1
Aliyah (Yuri Stern) 1

Israeli politics is a massive clusterfuçk in any universe...

[Vosem]

1999 adds up to 121, so the party which gained the most - Shas, by far - has a seat taken away from it. Before the election, the Labour Party and Gesher formed an alliance called One Nation under the leadership of Ehud Barak. Herut-The National Movement, Tkuma, and Moledet also formed an alliance, called the National Union, led by former Herut leader Benny Begin. Hadash is compared to Hadash-Balad, and Yisrael Beiteinu is compared to Aliyah.

1999:
One Israel (Ehud Barak) 49 (-1)
Likud (Benjamin Netanyahu) 26 (-4)
Shas (Aryeh Deri) 20 (+15)
Meretz (Yossi Sarid) 7 (+3)
Yisrael BaAliyah (Natan Sharansky) 3 (+2)
Shinui (Tommy Lapid) 3 (+1)
Centre Party (Yitzhak Mordechai) 3 (-4)
National Religious Party (Yitzhak Levy) 2 (-1)
United Torah Judaism (Meir Porush) 2 (+1)
United Arab List (Abdulmalik Dehamshe) 2 (+1)
National Union (Benny Begin) 1 (-6)
Yisrael Beiteinu (Avigdor Lieberman) 1 (-)
Hadash (Mohammad Barakeh) 1 (-)
One Nation (Amir Peretz) 0 (-5)
Tzomet (Rafael Eitan) 0 (-1)
Third Way (Avigdor Kahalani) 0 (-1)

Although it was clear One Israel had won the election, Barak nevertheless decided to form a 'grand alliance' of left-wing, moderate, and religious parties; in addition to One Israel, Shas, Meretz, Yisrael BaAliyah, the Centre Party, the National Religious Party, and United Torah Judaism; this 'grand alliance' had 86 seats.

As usual in Israel, parties started fragmenting immediately after the election. First, the One Israel alliance collapsed, with 46 members forming Labor-Meimad, led by Barak, and 3 members reforming Gesher, still led by David Levy. The Centre Party also fragmented, with only Mordechai staying in the party as 1 member joined Likud and 1 joined Labor-Meimad. Then, 2 members of Yisrael BaAliyah left the party to form Democratic Choice, led by Roman Bronfman. 1 member of the United Arab List, named Muhamad Kanan, left the party to form the Arab National Party. Then, Yisrael Beiteinu joined the National Union; Rehavam Ze'evi, who had been elected in a by-election after Begin's sudden resignation, became leader.

In 2001, Barak's 'grand alliance' collapsed, and he was replaced by the leader of Likud, Ariel Sharon. Sharon formed a 'national unity government' with Barak's Labor-Meimad, Shas, the Centre Party, the National Religious Party, United Torah Judaism, Yisrael BaAliyah, and the National Union -- this gigantic creation managed to survive to 2003, and had an astounding total of 102 members; indeed, Meretz leader Yossi Sarid became Leader of the Opposition.

So, before the next election, the parties were organized like this:
Labor-Meimad (Ehud Barak) 47
Likud (Ariel Sharon) 27
Shas (Aryeh Deri) 20
Meretz (Yossi Sarid) 7
Shinui (Tommy Lapid) 3
Gesher (David Levy) 3
National Religious Party (Yitzhak Levy) 2
United Torah Judaism (Meir Porush) 2
Democratic Choice (Roman Bronfman) 2
National Union (Rehavam Ze'evi) 2
Centre Party (Yitzhak Mordechai) 1
Yisrael BaAliyah (Natan Sharansky) 1
United Arab List (Abdulmalik Dehamshe) 1
Hadash (Mohammad Barakeh) 1
Arab National Party (Muhamad Kanan) 1