以色列人将于周二前往投票站，参加一场将决定该国下一任总理的选举。但组建新政府可能需要数周、数月甚至更长时间。
Israelis head to the polls on Tuesday for an election that will determine the country’s next prime minister. But it can take weeks, months or longer to form a new government.
以色列人将于周二前往投票站，许多人表示，这可能是该国78年历史上最具决定性影响的选举之一。
Israelis are heading to the polls on Tuesday to vote in what many say could be one of the most consequential elections in the country’s 78-year history.
以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡是该国任职时间最长的领导人，他、其所属政党及其执政联盟正陷入一场胶着的角逐，这是自2023年10月7日哈马斯领导的袭击引发以色列在加沙的毁灭性战争以来，该国举行的首次选举。
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, the country’s longest-serving leader, his party and his governing coalition have been locked in a tight contest in the country’s first election since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led assault that ignited Israel’s devastating war in Gaza.
每个政党都会提交一份按顺序排列的候选人名单，选民投票选择一个政党或名单。得票最多的政党领袖可能成为该国下一任总理——尽管这并非自动产生——前提是该候选人能够组建政府，但议会制十分复杂，涉及大量谈判。以下是您需要了解的内容。选举日会发生什么？
Every party creates a ranked list of its candidates, and voters choose a party or slate. The leader of the party with the most votes could become the country’s next prime minister — though it is not automatic — if that candidate can form a government, but the parliamentary system is complicated and involves extensive negotiations. Here’s what to know. What happens on Election Day?
选举日在以色列是公共假期，学校、政府机关和许多公共服务部门关门。在该国大部分地区，投票站定于当地时间上午7点开放，晚上10点关闭，部分小型社区、医院和监狱的投票时间略有缩短。
Election Day is a public holiday in Israel, with schools, government offices and many public services closed. In most of the country, polls are scheduled to open at 7 a.m. local time and close at 10 p.m., with hours slightly reduced in some small communities, hospitals and prisons.
选民被分配到其登记居住地附近的投票站，只能在该地点投票。士兵、行动不便者和囚犯等人群除外。
Voters are assigned to a polling station near their registered residence and may vote only at that location. There are exceptions for soldiers, people with limited mobility and prisoners, among others.
所有年满18岁且已登记的以色列公民，凭有效身份证件（如护照、驾照或以色列身份证）即可投票。以色列阿拉伯公民约占人口的20%，视投票率而定，他们可能在选举中发挥重要作用。
All Israeli citizens 18 or older who are registered to vote may do so with a valid identification, such as a passport, driver’s license or Israeli identification card. Israel’s Arab citizens, who make up about 20 percent of the population, could play a significant role in the vote, depending on turnout.
与许多民主国家不同，以色列没有邮寄或委托投票制度，大多数公民无法从国外投缺席票。选票上有什么？
Unlike many democracies, Israel does not have a postal or proxy voting system, and most citizens cannot cast an absentee vote from abroad. What’s on the ballot?
以色列的选举制度采用全国比例代表制。以色列议会（Knesset）拥有120个席位，议会选举至少每四年举行一次，尽管选举的频率可能会更高。在议会自行解散后，以色列在2022年举行了三年内的第五次选举。
Israel’s electoral system uses nationwide proportional representation. Elections to the Knesset, Israel’s 120-seat Parliament, are held at least every four years, though they can happen more often. In 2022, Israeli elections were held for the fifth time in three years after the Knesset dissolved itself.
以色列人投出一张选票，支持与某个政党相关联的候选人名单。一个政党获得的席位数量与其获得的全国得票率成正比。然而，要想在议会中获得一席之地，一个政党必须获得至少百分之3.25的有效选票。预计大约有10个政党能够跨过这一选举门槛。官方选举结果预计将于11月4日公布。如何组建政府？
Israelis cast a single ballot for a list of candidates affiliated with a party. A party receives a number of seats proportional to the national vote it got. To gain a place in Parliament, however, a party or must receive at least 3.25 percent of the valid votes. About 10 parties are expected to clear that electoral threshold. Official election results are expected by Nov. 4. How is a government formed?
从未有单一政党赢得过多数选票，这意味着各政党必须组成派系，且党派领袖会试图组建一个拥有至少61名议员的执政联盟。
No single party has ever won a majority of votes, which means parties must form factions and party leaders try to forge a governing coalition of at least 61 lawmakers.
在官方选举结果宣布后的七天内，主要扮演象征性角色的以色列总统会与议会各派系的当选代表会面。
Within seven days of the official election results being announced, Israel’s president, who plays a mostly symbolic role, meets with elected representatives of the parliamentary factions.
以色列总统艾萨克·赫尔佐格将指派一名议会议员——通常是赢得最多席位的政党或派系的领袖——来组建政府。随后，该候选人有28天的时间与其他派系进行谈判并结成联盟以组建政府，该政府必须在议会的信任投票中获得批准。此人可以申请将最后期限延长14天。
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, will assign a member of the Knesset — usually the leader of the party or faction that has won the most seats — to form a government. That candidate then has 28 days to negotiate with other factions and forge alliances to form a government, which must be approved by the Knesset in a vote of confidence. That person can request a 14-day extension to the deadline.
如果这一努力失败，总统可以选择另一位候选人，该候选人同样拥有28天时间尝试组建政府。如果第二次尝试也失败，议会多数议员可以请求总统让第三位候选人尝试。该人将获得14天时间组建政府，如果失败，将宣布重新选举。如果被选中组建政府的候选人能够提出政府组阁名单及政策议程，且其提案在议会赢得相对多数票，政府即正式成立，该候选人成为总理。
If that effort fails, the president can select another candidate who also has 28 days to try to form a government. If that second attempt fails, a majority of Knesset members can ask the president to have a third candidate try. That person would be granted 14 days to form a government, and if that failed, new elections would be announced If a candidate who has been selected to form a government can propose one, along with a policy agenda, and their proposal wins a plurality of votes in the Knesset, the government is formally invested, and that candidate becomes the prime minister.
从技术上讲，法律允许少数派政府，只要支持它的相对多数大于反对它的少数派即可，但在选举后成立的政府几乎总是获得议会多数议员的信任，即至少61名议员的支持。
Technically, the law allows for a minority government if the relative majority supporting it is larger than the minority opposing, but governments established after elections have almost always enjoyed the confidence of a majority of Knesset members, at least 61.
据以色列民主研究所——一家位于以色列的非党派智库——统计，历史上组建政府大约需要20至100天，且没有任何政府在选举后不足50天内宣誓就职。谁是主要竞争者？
Historically, it has taken about 20 to 100 days to form a government, and no government has been sworn in less than 50 days after an election, according to the Israel Democracy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Israel. Who are the top contenders?
选举前一周的不同民调显示了不同的结果，这“对政治学家来说非常棘手”，以色列民主研究所政治研究负责人阿萨夫·夏皮拉表示，该研究所是位于以色列的非党派智库。
Different polls in the week ahead of the election have suggested different outcomes, which is “very problematic for political scientists,” said Assaf Shapira, who heads political research at the Israel Democracy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Israel.
许多以色列人认为，这次选举是对内塔尼亚胡领导力的公投。内塔尼亚胡及其利库德集团，以及他们的硬右翼盟友，与加迪·艾森科特陷入胶着竞争。艾森科特是前参谋长，领导由“雅沙尔党”领衔的反对派联盟，已成为内塔尼亚胡的主要挑战者。
Many Israelis consider this election to be a referendum on Mr. Netanyahu’s leadership. Mr. Netanyahu and his Likud party, and their hard-right allies, are in a close race with Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff who heads the opposition coalition led by the Yashar party and has emerged as Mr. Netanyahu’s top challenger.
埃夫拉特·利夫尼是《纽约时报》记者，报道全球新闻，常驻纽约。
Ephrat Livni is a Times reporter covering news around the world. She is based in New York.