Israeli lawmakers elect interim Knesset speaker

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israeli lawmakers on Tuesday elected Yariv Levin of the right-wing Likud Party as an interim speaker for the Knesset (Israel's parliament).

Levin will replace speaker Mickey Levy from the Yesh Atid (There is Future) Party of outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

According to the Knesset website, Levin won 64 votes while candidate Merav Ben-Ari of the Yesh Atid Party got 45 votes, and Ayman Odeh of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) Party got only 5 votes in Tuesday’s election.

The election for the interim speaker was scheduled for Monday but was postponed till Tuesday over disagreements between Israeli political parties.

The voting of the interim speaker would facilitate measures and legislation for forming the upcoming Israeli government.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc secured an outright majority in the Knesset in the elections that took place early last month.

On Sunday, the 28-day deadline given to Netanyahu to form a government expired, with President Isaac Herzog agreeing to extend the deadline for an additional 10 days at Netanyahu's request.

Under the law, the deadline can be extended for an additional 14 days. In the event of failure, the Israeli president assigns another deputy to form the government.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara