Israel elections have concluded: Netanyahu's party is first, but he lacks enough votes to form a government
The parliamentary election held in Israel on October 27 is ending without a clear winner. According to exit poll results, Netanyahu's Likud party is in the lead with 27 seats, followed by Eisenkot's Yashar party with 20-22 seats.
Elections conclude in Israel: Netanyahu's party leads, but fails to secure enough votes to form a government
According to the Central Elections Committee of Israel, voter turnout reached 77.7 percent, the highest figure since 1999. That is, approximately 5.7 million out of 7.3 million eligible voters went to the polling stations. According to Israeli media, turnout among Arab voters reached 80 percent.
Citing television exit polls, Reuters writes that Netanyahu's Likud party is leading with 27 seats, while Eisenkot's Yashar party follows with 20-22 seats. Currently, Likud holds 32 seats in the Knesset. The blocs are almost evenly matched: two channels assigned 51 seats to each side. Arab parties are expected to achieve a record result of 18-19 seats.
The official count is still ongoing. With nearly a third of the votes counted, Netanyahu's bloc was taking 59 seats, the opposition 46, and the Arab parties 15. However, the committee stressed that these figures could change. Final results will be known in a few days.
What did Netanyahu and Eisenkot say?
Both leaders interpreted the results to their advantage. Netanyahu did not explicitly declare victory, but emphasized that Likud is the largest party and stressed the need to form a "strong, right-wing, national government." "It is absolutely impossible to put Israel at risk by forming a government relying on anti-Zionist Arab parties," he said.
Eisenkot, on the other hand, said the people voted for change. "The coalition of failure has lost the trust of the people," he said. He called on Netanyahu to resign and stated that if the results match the exit polls, he would immediately set about replacing the government.
Who will form the government?
Now the main struggle will unfold in coalition negotiations. Following the final results, President Isaac Herzog will consult with party leaders and task the candidate with the highest chance to form a government. A 42-day deadline will be granted. If no one succeeds, new elections will be held, while Netanyahu's government will continue to serve as a caretaker administration in the meantime.