by JNS Staff
Some exit polls showed a stronger showing for the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party edged out Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar in Israel’s national election on Tuesday, according to exit polls published as voting closed at 10 p.m. local time. However, the incumbent did not immediately have a clear path to forming a governing coalition of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
The exit polls varied widely, with Channel 14 projecting 30 seats for Likud, compared with 24 and 25, respectively, in projections by Channels 12 and 13.
Some exit polls also showed a stronger showing for the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot.
Channel 14:
Likud: 30
Yashar: 19
B’Yachad: 11
Joint List: 10
Shas: 9
The Democrats: 9
Otzma Yehudit: 7
Ra’am: 7
Religious Zionist-Zehut: 7
United Torah Judaism: 7
Yisrael Beytenu: 4
Netanyahu bloc: 60 mandates
Opposition bloc: 43 mandates
Arab parties: 17 mandates
Channel 12:
Likud: 24
Yashar: 22
B’Yachad: 12
Joint List: 11
The Democrats: 9
Yisrael Beytenu: 9
Shas: 8
Ra’am: 7
Otzma Yehudit: 6
Religious Zionist-Zehut: 6
United Torah Judaism: 6
Netanyahu bloc: 50 mandates
Opposition bloc: 52 mandates
Arab parties: 18 mandates
Channel 13:
Likud: 25
Yashar: 23
B’Yachad: 14
Joint List: 10
The Democrats: 9
Ra’am: 7
United Torah Judaism: 7
Yisrael Beytenu: 7
Religious Zionist-Zehut: 6
Otzma Yehudit: 6
Shas: 6
Netanyahu bloc: 50 mandates
Opposition bloc: 53 mandates
Arab parties: 17 mandates
Exit polls are often revised as votes are counted, and surplus-vote agreements between parties can also shift final seat totals. The final vote tally is expected by Friday.
Once official results are published on Nov. 4, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will consult party leaders and task the lawmaker he believes is most likely to form a government. That need not be the leader of the largest party.
The government-formation process follows a timetable defined by law. The first candidate Herzog designates receives 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to form a coalition. If he or she is unsuccessful, the president can assign another candidate 28 days. If that attempt also fails—or the president determines there is no possibility of forming a government—at least 61 MKs have 21 days to request that the president designate an alternative candidate. That candidate then has 14 days to form a government.
Failure to establish a government would trigger another election held in approximately 90 days. Herzog has pledged to try to avoid that outcome, declaring: “I really, truly will do all I can so there won’t be repeat elections.”
Some 7.33 million Israelis were eligible to vote, according to Israeli Central Elections Committee figures dated Sept. 6. That is an increase of 543,177 since the previous election in 2022.
Some 330,000 young Israelis were eligible to vote for the first time.
A total of 12,018 regular polling stations opened nationwide at 7 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m.
Election Day in Israel is a national holiday, with schools, kindergartens and most workplaces expected to close. Voters choose party lists rather than directly electing a prime minister. Lists must receive at least 3.25% of valid votes to enter the Knesset.
Military voting began on Oct. 21 at Israel Defense Forces bases and outposts across operational arenas, including in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. Eligible Israeli diplomats serving abroad and their family members began voting on Oct. 15.
The vote for the 26th Knesset marked the Jewish state’s first general election since the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.
JNS Staff
Source: https://www.jns.org/news/israel-news/israeli-election-likud-largest-party-according-to-exit-polls
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