1961 Israeli Election
15 August 1961 · The Mapai decades · 120 seats, 61 for a majority
During the Knesset term, eight MKs broke away from Mapai to establish Rafi and two MKs left Maki to establish Rakah. Herut and the Liberal Party merged to form Gahal.
Prime Minister before
David Ben-Gurion
Mapai
Prime Minister (continued)
David Ben-Gurion
Mapai
Largest force
Mapai
42 of 120 seats
Turnout
81.6%
The result
| Share of the Knesset | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mapai | — | 42 | -5 | 349,330 | 34.7% | — | |
| Herut | — | 17 | 0 | 138,599 | 13.8% | — | |
| Liberal Party | — | 17 | +3 | 137,255 | 13.6% | — | |
| National Religious Party | — | 12 | 0 | 98,786 | 9.8% | — | |
| Mapam | — | 9 | 0 | 75,654 | 7.5% | — | |
| Ahdut HaAvoda | — | 8 | +1 | 66,170 | 6.6% | — | |
| Maki | — | 5 | +2 | 42,111 | 4.2% | — | |
| Agudat Yisrael | — | 4 | 0 | 37,178 | 3.7% | — |
6 further seats went to parties and independents outside the main contenders listed above.