Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Elections for the fifth Knesset were held in Israel on 15 August 1961. Voter turnout was 81.6%. Elections in Israel are based on nationwide proportional representation. The electoral threshold is currently set at 2%, with the number of seats a party receives in the Knesset being proportional to the number of votes it receives. The Knesset is elected for a four-year term, although most governments have not served a full term and early elections are a frequent occurrence. Israel has a multi-party system based on coalition governments as no party has ever won a majority of seats in a national election, although the Alignment briefly held a majority following its formation by an alliance of several different parties prior to the 1969 elections. The legal voting age for Israeli citizens is eighteen. Elections are overseen by the Central Elections Committee and are held according to the Knesset Elections Law.