Ra'am Gains to 8 Seats, Joint List Drops to 11 as Vote Count Nears Completion
Translated & summarized from JDN by baba
With 91.2% of votes counted in Israel's 26th Knesset elections, Ra'am has increased to eight seats while the Joint List has dropped to 11. The overall bloc totals remain unchanged, with the current coalition at 53 seats and the opposition at 48. Final results are pending the counting of remaining ballots and votes from double envelopes, with preliminary data showing shifts in some party percentages.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Ra'am has gained seats to eight, while the Joint List has fallen to 11 mandates as vote counting nears completion.
- Approximately 91.2% of votes have been tallied for the 26th Knesset elections as of Thursday morning.
- The current coalition parties maintain 53 seats, and the opposition "change bloc" holds 48 seats.
- Likud leads with 26 seats, followed by Yesh Atid with 21 and United Torah Judaism with 12.
- Results from 163 regular polling stations are still pending, along with double envelope votes.
- Preliminary data from double envelopes shows Religious Zionism leading with 13.5%.
As approximately 91.2% of votes are tallied for the 26th Knesset elections, the United Arab List (Ra'am) has risen to eight seats, while the Joint List has fallen to 11. This shift, reported Thursday morning, does not alter the overall bloc configuration, with the current coalition parties maintaining 53 seats and the "change bloc" holding 48. The update, released at 6:47 AM, incorporated 8,497 additional votes.
The Likud party continues to lead with 26 seats, followed by Yesh Atid with 21 and United Torah Judaism with 12. The Joint List is projected to secure 11 mandates, with both the Democrats and Ra'am each receiving eight. Israel Beiteinu, Shas, and Otzma Yehudit are each at seven seats, while Religious Zionism and Zehut are at six.
Parties falling below the electoral threshold include HaMiluimnikim and HaKalkalit, with 2.63% of the vote, and Am Israel with 1.6%. The Central Elections Committee reported that by 7:00 AM, results from 11,855 out of 12,018 regular polling stations had been received, representing 5,191,912 voters and 5,168,955 valid ballots. Results from 163 regular stations are still pending.
These figures exclude votes from double envelopes, the counting of which began overnight and whose results will be updated later. Preliminary data from the first batch of double envelope votes indicated that Religious Zionism received 13.5%, Shas and United Torah Judaism each received 3%, and the Joint List received 1%. The Elections Committee stressed that these numbers are partial and subject to change as counting and verification continue.
