Like much of the public, small and medium-sized businesses object to a third Knesset election – not because of political fatigue, but because another election day could be a heavy hit to their pockets.
On Wednesday, small business owners were slated to hold an emergency meeting in the Knesset to demand that work proceed as usual on Election Day, rather than the public having the day off.
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If the election is held as expected on March 2, 2020, it will be the fourth national day off in less than a year, including the day municipal elections were held.
The meeting, which will be chaired by MK Keren Barak (Likud), is scheduled to discuss a report prepared by economist Dr. Roby Nathanson for the Lahav-Israel Chamber of Independent Organizations and Businesses, which shows that a day off will cost small and mid-size businesses 2.5 billion to 3 billion shekels ($7.2 billion-$8.6 billion).
The report has prompted organizations representing small businesses to demand that Election Day be a regular workday. MKs Miki Zohar (Likud) and Oded Forer (Yisrael Beytenu) have already submitted a bill to cancel the traditional Election Day "holiday."
The bill would need to pass with a majority vote of 61 MKs, which is unlikely.
The head of the Central Elections Committee has opposed the cancellation of the day off, arguing that it would make it difficult to find people to staff polling places. In the last election, the CEC budget was increased by 12% and stood at some 320 million shekels ($92 million).
