ABSTRACT
In the 2006 election, Israelis went to the polls to choose parties, rather than a prime minister, as they had done briefly in the 1990s under the direct election system. Direct election meant that on election-day voters would separately choose a candidate for prime minister, in addition to the usual party-list ballot cast for the Knesset. 1 As two ballots meant more choice, this was commonly blamed for party fragmentation and for the increase in the power of small parties. A return to a single-ballot system was meant to reverse the unintended consequences of the direct election system.
