Israel May Hold Elections a Year Early

[La_Serpiente]

Israel May Hold Elections a Year Early

JERUSALEM - Israel's attorney general has issued an opinion that elections be held in November 2006, a year earlier than scheduled, a Justice Ministry spokesman said Monday.

The ruling by Attorney General Meni Mazuz follows a heated dispute between parliament's two largest parties — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s Likud Party and Shimon Peres' Labor Party — over the timing.

The dispute surfaced last month after Israel Army Radio reported that government election laws, amended in haste in 1999, had inadvertently shortened the term of the current parliament.

General elections are supposed to be held every four years, unless parliament dissolves earlier as a result of the prime minister's coalition collapsing. Elections were last held in February 2003.

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Israel May Hold Elections a Year Early