electionstracker

Israel 1961 legislative election

What was the result of the 1961 legislative election in Israel?

Alignment / Labor won 42 of 120 seats with 34.7% of the vote. 81.6% of registered voters cast a ballot.

  • Israel
  • Held:
  • Final result
  • ParlGov, read 5 October 2026

Which party won the most seats?

Final results from ParlGov, read : Alignment / Labor won 42 of 120 seats with 34.7% of the vote; 81.6% of registered voters cast a ballot, unchanged on 1959.

  • Alignment / Labor 42 −5 seats 34.7% −3.5 points
  • Herut 17 0 seats 13.8% +0.3 points
  • Israeli Liberal Party 17 13.6%
  • National Religious Party / The Jewish Home 12 0 seats 9.8% −0.1 points
  • Ahdut HaAvoda 9 +2 seats 7.5% +1.5 points
  • Mapam 8 −1 seat 6.6% −0.6 points
  • Communist Party / Moked / Sheli 5 +2 seats 4.2% +1.4 points
  • Agudat Yisrael 4 3.7%
  • Poalei Agudat Yisrael 2 1.9%
  • Cooperation and Brotherhood 2 0 seats 1.9% +0.8 points
  • Progress and Development 2 0 seats 1.6% +0.3 points
  • Seats won
  • Change on the previous election at the right
  • Share of the vote
  • Share at the previous election
  • Change in points at the right

Changes are against the Israel 1959 legislative election, party by party.

61 of 120 seats make a majority

Key numbers

  1. 34.7%

    Share of the vote won by Alignment / Labor

    Alignment / Labor won 42 of 120 seats. A majority needs 61.

  2. +2 seats

    Seats gained by Ahdut HaAvoda

    The largest gain in seats compared with 1959. Alignment / Labor lost 5 seats.

  3. 81.6%

    Voter turnout

    Unchanged on 1959.

Seats and votes by party

PartySeats± seats%± pointsVotes
Alignment / Labor42−534.7−3.5349,330
Herut17013.8+0.3138,599
Israeli Liberal Party1713.6137,255
National Religious Party / The Jewish Home1209.8−0.198,786
Ahdut HaAvoda9+27.5+1.575,654
Mapam8−16.6−0.666,170
Communist Party / Moked / Sheli5+24.2+1.442,111
Agudat Yisrael43.737,178
Poalei Agudat Yisrael21.919,428
Cooperation and Brotherhood201.9+0.819,342
Progress and Development201.6+0.316,034
Progress and Work00.43,561

± is the change against the Israel 1959 legislative election, party by party.

Votes by party
  • Alignment / Labor 349,330
  • Herut 138,599
  • Israeli Liberal Party 137,255
  • National Religious Party / The Jewish Home 98,786
  • Ahdut HaAvoda 75,654
  • Mapam 66,170
  • Communist Party / Moked / Sheli 42,111
  • Agudat Yisrael 37,178
  • Poalei Agudat Yisrael 19,428
  • Cooperation and Brotherhood 19,342
  • Progress and Development 16,034
  • Progress and Work 3,561

ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.

How many people voted?

81.6% of the 1,271,285 registered voters cast a ballot (1,037,030 ballots), unchanged on 1959. 1,006,964 of them were valid votes. The lowest turnout since 1951 in our data.

How do the votes compare with the seats?

  • Alignment / Labor34.7% of votes35.0% of seats
  • Herut13.8% of votes14.2% of seats
  • Israeli Liberal Party13.6% of votes14.2% of seats
  • National Religious Party / The Jewish Home9.8% of votes10.0% of seats
  • Ahdut HaAvoda7.5% of votes7.5% of seats
  • Mapam6.6% of votes6.7% of seats
  • Communist Party / Moked / Sheli4.2% of votes4.2% of seats
  • Agudat Yisrael3.7% of votes3.3% of seats
  • Cooperation and Brotherhood1.9% of votes1.7% of seats
  • Poalei Agudat Yisrael1.9% of votes1.7% of seats
  • Progress and Development1.6% of votes1.7% of seats
Each party's share of the vote (outlined) and of the seats (filled)

The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 0.7 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 5.5 by votes and 5.4 by seats; Alignment / Labor led Herut by 20.9 points of the vote.

Time and source Data as of