President Shimon Peres will begin consulting Israeli political parties on Wednesday evening, ushering in steps to form Israel's next government, his office said Tuesday, dpa reported.
The consultations will begin immediately after the president receives the official results of Israel's January 22 elections from the head of the Central Elections Committee, a statement said.
Under Israeli law, Peres is obliged to consult with representatives of all parties elected to parliament, before entrusting a party leader with the task of forming a coalition.
The nominated candidate has 28 days in which to put together a government, but can receive a 14-day extension if required.
Peres will meet party officials according to the size of the faction. Consequently, his meetings will kick off Wednesday evening local time with Prime Mnister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud faction, which won 31 of the 120 parliament seats at stake in the election.
After the Likud, Peres will meet with the Yesh Atid party, the second largest faction in parliament, with 19 seats. The consultations will continue on Thursday, the presidential statement said.