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Municipal elections in Israel are elections in which the residents of the cities and local councils in Israel vote for the chairman of the local authority (mayor or municipality chairman), as well as the city councils or the local councils.
In order to be elected to the position of the chairman of the local authority, the candidate needs at least 40% of the total votes. If no candidate gets 40% of the votes then a second round of elections is held, in which only the two candidates who won the most votes compete against each other.
The Local Authorities Elections Law (חוק הבחירות לרשויות המקומיות) gives both Israeli citizens as well as permanent residents who are not citizens and are not eligible to vote in the legislative elections (e.g. the Arab residents of East Jerusalem), the right to vote for their local authorities. In addition, people eligible to vote in the municipal elections are 17 years of age or older (unlike the national elections, where citizens aged 18 or older can vote).
The contenders in the municipal elections are mostly representatives of the parties who also compete in the legislative elections, although in addition to them, there usually is also a considerable number of candidates who are not affiliated with a major political party.
Unlike the national legislative elections, the municipal elections day is not a sabbatical, and there is no media campaign broadcast on television or radio prior to the election day.
There may also be municipalities in which elections are not held during national election years, when either all parties decide to support one candidate for the position of mayor, or to support a joint list of city council or the local council members. For example, in 2008, municipal elections were not in Bnei Brak and in Modi'in Illit for this reason.