Israeli president starts process of selecting next PM

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Israeli President Reuven Rivlin began a series of meetings Monday with representatives of political parties voted into parliament in last week's elections 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.

The consultations, broadcast live from Rivlin's residence, will take place over two days, during which members of each party will tell the president who they think should be tasked with forming the government.

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.

"The process should reflect the people's will, as reflected in their vote," said Rivlin, a former Likud member whose relationship with Netanyahu has been tense at times.

"A president does not choose a prime minister, nor does one person from the population. The sovereign does, and the sovereign is the people."