Indirect presidential elections were held in Israel on 10 June 2014. The result was a victory for Reuven Rivlin of the Likud party. Rivlin was sworn in as President of Israel on 24 July.Reuven Rivlin is elected Israel's 10th president Haaretz, 10 June 2014
Background In November 2013, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein ruled that candidates for the office of President would be barred from raising funds to finance their campaigns.
In January 2014, incumbent President Shimon Peres announced that he would not run for a second term, despite an opinion poll showing 63% of Israelis would prefer him to remain in office.Israeli Public Apparently Prefers Shimon Peres Jerusalem Online, 6 January 2014 A second term would require change in legislation, as the Basic Law on the presidency permits only one term,Basic Law: The President of the State Knesset following reforms made after the 1998 presidential election to prevent an incumbent being challenged for the presidency.
Candidates In 2012, an agreement was made between Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Rivlin would be the party's candidate for the election if Likud won the 2013 Knesset election.Rivlin settles with Netanyahu on 2014 presidency bid The Times of Israel, 22 October 2012 Likud subsequently emerged with a parliamentary plurality. However, in February 2014 the Jerusalem Post reported that both Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, a major power in the Likud party, had a poor relationship with Rivlin and had not ruled out backing another candidate.Uzi Landau mulling presidential run The Jerusalem Post, 12 February 2014
In February 2014, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer of the Labor Party became the first candidate to receive the required 10 nominations from Knesset members.Endorsements make Labor's Ben-Eliezer first presidential candidate The Jerusalem Post, 17 February 2014 Four days before the election, Ben-Eliezer was investigated by the police on corruption charges and subsequently withdrew from the race.
Other candidates included Nobel Prize laureate Dan Shechtman,Nobel Prize winner says he's a candidate to replace Peres as president Haaretz, 18 January 2014 Meir Sheetrit of Hatnuah,Meir Sheetrit gains backing of Hatnua party, needs five more signatures to make it official The Times of Israel, 24 February 2014 Dalia Itzik of Kadima,Legislators barred from campaign fundraising for Israeli presidency Haaretz, 14 November 2013 and former Supreme Court judge Dalia Dorner.Dalia Dorner Announces Presidential Candidacy Israel National News, 13 February 2014 Potential candidates who expressed an interest in running but did not receive the written support from ten members of the Knesset needed for nomination included Uzi Landau of Yisrael Beiteinu, Silvan Shalom of Likud, and businessman Yosef Abramowitz.‘Captain Sunshine’ mulling presidential run The Jerusalem Post, 24 February 2014
Opinion polls Although the public were not able to vote in the election, opinion polls were conducted to determine public support for the candidates. PollsterDateReuven RivlinDan ShechtmanBinyamin Ben-EliezerDalia ItzikDalia DornerMeir SheetritNatan SharanskySilvan ShalomChannel 26 January 201427%–16%5%––9%13%Knesset Channel Panels23 January 201428%25%6%2%––7%6%Haaretz27 May 2014 31%22%10%4%11%4%––
Results
Only 119 votes were cast, as one member of the Knesset, Meir Porush, was abroad.
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