Israel will head to early elections in April, announced the government as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggles to keep together a one-seat majority in parliament. Heads of parties in Netanyahus coalition agreed to hold the polls in early April "in the name of budgetary and national responsibility," a statement issued on their behalf said. The announcement came at a time when the long-time premier could face potential corruption charges in the future. Despite his recent legal and political troubles, polls have indicated he would remain prime minister after new elections, putting him in line to become Israels longest-serving premier. Netanyahu, now in his fourth term as prime minister, has been governing with a razor-thin majority of 61 seats in the 120-member parliament. He heads the right-wing Likud party. The government was preparing a bill to dissolve the Knesset, or parliament, and hold elections on April 9, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said. Under Israeli law, a national election had to be held by November 2019. Netanyahu’s government would remain in place until a new one is sworn in, after the April poll. No one in Netanyahu’s Likud has made a public challenge against him, and the party is expected to close ranks around him in the coming election. Outside Likud, Yair Lapid, head of the centrist Yesh Atid opposition party, is seen as the strongest candidate to succeed Netanyahu in any upset. Lapid’s party is second to Likud in opinion polls. Israel’s former army chief, Benny Gantz, is seen as a dovish potential candidate who could tip the balance in favor of a center-left bloc, but has not yet thrown his hat in the ring. On the right, former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home party, could both seek to lead a right-wing bloc if Likud emerges in a weaker position in an election. A series of corruption probes against Netanyahu and pending decisions by Israel’s attorney general on whether to follow police recommendations to indict him had raised speculation he would opt to seek a public show of confidence at the ballot box. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing in the cases and has given no indication he will step down if charged. Netanyahu, speaking to journalists, laid out what he sees as his achievements and said he hoped for a similar coalition to the current one, seen as the most right-wing in Israels history. "The current coalition is, in my eyes, the core of the next coalition," Netanyahu said. "We ask for a clear mandate from the voter to continue to lead the state of Israel in our own way." The decision comes with the coalition struggling to agree on a key bill related to ultra-Orthodox Jews serving in the military like their secular counterparts. Ultra-Orthodox parties hold 13 seats out of the coalitions 61, giving them significant influence over policy. Netanyahus coalition was left with a one-seat majority in parliament following Liebermans resignation in November over a controversial Gaza ceasefire deal. Opposition leader Tzipi Livni and Labor party chairman Avi Gabbay, part of the Zionist Union alliance, welcomed new elections. "Hope is returning to Israel today and you can breathe a sigh of relief," Livni told journalists. "On his way out, Netanyahu will try to destroy what is left of Israeli democracy and we will stand as a wall against any such attempt." Netanyahu first led Israel from 1996 to 1999, and returned in 2009. His current government has been in power since May 2015.