Election Exit Polls Show Major Discrepancy in Support for Bennett's Party

Exit polls released Tuesday night indicated a significant discrepancy between pollsters' predictions and the actual support for Naftali Bennett's party, "Achieving Together," which was projected to win between 11 and 15 seats. The most prominent poll, from Channel 12, gave the party only 12 mandates. Party leaders Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid were absent from the election night gathering in Tel Aviv when the results were broadcast.

While many pre-election surveys suggested a stabilization of the party's support, raising hopes for Bennett to be a candidate for prime minister, the union with Yair Lapid apparently failed to resonate with voters. Right-wing voters reportedly struggled to support a list that included a politician ideologically supportive of a Palestinian state, while left-wing voters were hesitant to vote for a right-wing leader who had previously headed the Yesha Council. Furthermore, the party's platform was seen as not significantly different from those of other parties like Yesh Atid or Yisrael Beiteinu.

One unnamed Knesset member stated, "It's hard to know what will happen. We need to wait for the double envelopes, they could strengthen Bennett and weaken the power of the Arab parties." In contrast, the outgoing Knesset saw Yesh Atid win 24 mandates, but current projections suggest Lapid's party will secure only five or six seats. A source within Yesh Atid expressed satisfaction, stating, "We ran an economic campaign in the last few days aimed at reducing the leakage of our voters to Hendl and Zlicha, and it apparently worked."

However, the article suggests that the primary reason for the failure of the reservists' party was the high voter turnout. The "double envelopes" refer to ballots cast by soldiers and other specific groups, which are counted separately and can sometimes alter final results.