WATCH: Party reps meet with Rivlin as coalition consultations enter second day

In first, talks between president and elected parties are being broadcast live, in effort to promote transparency of government formation process

President Reuven Rivlin was holding meetings Tuesday with representatives of the political parties voted into parliament in last week’s elections, in a second day of consultations ahead of choosing who will form the next government.

Rivlin would appear to have little choice but to pick incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his party won the most seats in the April 9 vote, leaving it best placed to form a coalition government.

Netanyahu’s Likud party, which won 36 seats, was the first to meet Rivlin on Monday morning, followed by Blue and White, Shas, United Torah Judaism and Hadash-Taal representatives.

On Tuesday, the second and final day of consultations, Rivlin met with Labor, Yisrael Beytenu and the Union of Right Wing Parties, followed by Meretz, Kulanu, and Ra’am-Balad.

During the consultations, broadcast live from Rivlin’s residence (in Hebrew), members of each party have been telling the president who they think should be tasked with forming the government — i.e., the next prime minister.

The president will assign the mission to the member of parliament who wins the support of at least 61 lawmakers, constituting a majority of the parliament’s 120 members.