Likud Leads as Early Election Results Roll In

By רבקה שורק

Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba

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Hebrew · 5 newsrooms covering

Early results from Israel's 26th Knesset elections indicate a significant lead for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, with 59 projected mandates for his bloc after counting nearly a third of the votes. The "left" bloc is projected to win 46 seats, and Arab parties 15. Voter turnout reached approximately 77.7%, the highest in 25 years. Netanyahu called for a right-wing government, opposing reliance on Arab party support.

The story in 6 lines · by baba

Likud leads with 59 projected mandates after counting nearly a third of votes in Israel's 26th Knesset elections.
Netanyahu's bloc is two seats short of a majority, while the "left" bloc is projected to win 46 seats.
Voter turnout reached approximately 77.7%, the highest in 25 years.
Early results differ from initial exit polls which had favored the "left" bloc.
Prime Minister Netanyahu called for a strong right-wing government.
Several parties, including HaMilaquim veHaKalkalit and Amcha Yisrael, are currently below the electoral threshold.

Likud Leads as Early Election Results Roll In — Editorial illustration generated by baba News, not a photograph of the event.

Early results from Israel's 26th Knesset elections show the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, holding a significant lead after nearly a third of the votes have been counted. Based on the current distribution of mandates, Netanyahu's bloc is projected to win 59 seats, just two short of the majority needed to form a government. The "left" bloc is estimated to receive 46 mandates, while Arab parties collectively hold 15.

The preliminary results diverge from initial exit polls, which had suggested an advantage for the "left" bloc, but this gap narrowed as the night progressed. The Likud currently holds 22.02% of the valid votes, followed by "Yashar!" led by Gadi Eisenkot with 15.46%, the Joint List with 8.57%, and "Achva" led by Naftali Bennett with 8.29%.

Other parties in contention include Yahadut HaTorah with 6.71%, Yisrael Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman with 6.37%, Otzma Yehudit led by Itamar Ben-Gvir with 5.95%, and HaDemocratim led by Yair Golan with 5.89%. Shas has garnered 5.79%, Religious Zionism 5.62%, and Ra'am 3.70%.

Parties currently falling below the 3.25% electoral threshold include HaMilaquim veHaKalkalit, led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, with 2.72%, and Amcha Yisrael led by Ofer Vinter with 1.80%. However, the vote count is ongoing, and these figures may change.

The overall voter turnout is approximately 77.7%, the highest in 25 years. Following the initial results, Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed his supporters, calling for the establishment of a strong, right-wing, Zionist government and expressing opposition to a government reliant on Arab party support.

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