This evening, President Shimon Peres will meet representatives of Kadima, followed by representatives of Likud. Kadima and Likud are the two parties with the largest number of seats following the February 10th elections.
Peres will begin the consultations after the Central Elections Committee presents him with official election results. The Central Elections Committee, led by Supreme Court Justice Eliezer Rivlin, will arrive at the President's Residence at 6:00 this evening.
Peres will meet with all of the Knesset factions over Thursday and Friday, with the goal of determining which Knesset member to task with forming the next government.
Kadima, led by Tzipi Livni, won 28 seats in the recent elections for the 120-seat Knesset, while Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, won 27 seats. However, a block of right wing and religious parties received more seats combined than a block of left wing and Arab parties. The results have led to calls for a national unity government.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 18, 2009
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