Netanyahu Coalition Holds 53 Seats After 92.7% of Votes Counted
Translated & summarized from Cursorinfo by baba
With 92.7% of ballots counted for Israel's 26th Knesset elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats, the opposition 48, and Arab parties 19. No bloc has secured the 61 seats needed to form a government. The counting of special ballots, including those from soldiers and diplomats, is ongoing and expected to finish by Monday evening, with final results due by November 4, 2026. Voter turnout was 77.7%.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 seats after 92.7% of votes are counted.
- The opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot has secured 48 seats.
- Arab parties collectively hold 19 seats, with the Joint List gaining one seat.
- No political bloc has reached the 61-seat majority required to form a government.
- The counting of special ballots, including those from soldiers, is ongoing.
- Final election results are expected by November 4, 2026.
As of Monday morning, October 29, Israel's Central Elections Committee has processed 92.7% of ballots for the 26th Knesset elections, with 5,278,597 votes counted from 12,032 polling stations nationwide. Of these, 5,255,134 were deemed valid and 23,463 were invalidated. The current count shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holding 53 seats, an opposition alliance led by Gadi Eisenkot with 48 seats, and two Arab parties combined holding 19 seats. Crucially, no bloc has yet reached the 61-seat majority required to form a government independently.
The distribution of the 120 parliamentary seats, considering residual vote transfers, is as follows: Likud (Netanyahu) 26 seats, Yashar (Eisenkot) 21 seats, Joint List 12 seats, Bayahd 12 seats, Democrats 8 seats, Ra'am 7 seats, Yisrael Beiteinu 7 seats, United Torah Judaism 7 seats, Otzma Yehudit 7 seats, Shas 7 seats, and Religious Zionism/Zehut 6 seats. The Joint List gained one seat at the expense of Ra'am, maintaining the Arab parties' total at 19 seats. Movements "Miluimnikim ve Kalkalit" and "Amcha Israel" remain below the 3.25% electoral threshold.
Early in the vote count, with 28% processed, Netanyahu's bloc had 59 seats, the opposition 46, and Arab parties 15. The distribution has since stabilized, with the 53-48-19 split holding steady since 85.6% of votes were processed.
Turnout for the October 27 election was 77.7%, with 5,695,682 out of 7,331,981 eligible voters participating. The counting of "double envelopes", containing votes from soldiers, diplomats, hospital patients, prisoners, and special polling stations, began overnight and is expected to conclude by the evening of October 29. These results could affect parties close to the electoral threshold. The final results are anticipated no later than November 4, 2026.
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