Elections Committee Denies Qatar Bribery Allegations Affecting Vote

The Central Elections Committee has issued an unusual statement addressing suspicions of Qatari bribery and influence on the recent elections. Acting Director General Dean Livneh stated on Friday that publications alleging such influence are unfounded and that an ongoing Shin Bet investigation, initiated due to classified intelligence, will not impact the election results.

Livneh explained that the Shin Bet chief, David Zinai, presented classified information to the committee's chairman, Judge Noam Sohlberg, on Thursday. Following this, an investigation was launched with Sohlberg's approval. Key details were also shared with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yair Lapid, and Gadi Eisenkot, with Livneh emphasizing that only individuals with high security clearance are privy to this information.

"The news is not based on facts," Livneh declared, adding that the investigation is not targeting any specific sector and is proceeding concurrently with the committee's work without affecting the final results submitted to the President. Once the investigation concludes, its findings will be presented to Sohlberg for a review of all potential implications, and the public will be updated as soon as security constraints allow.

In parallel with the investigation, the Central Elections Committee announced the completion of vote counting from external envelopes and initial verification of regular ballot boxes. For the 26th Knesset elections, 5,716,665 eligible voters cast ballots, a turnout of 77.9%. Of the 5,690,778 valid votes counted, 25,887 were disqualified. Eleven parties surpassed the electoral threshold of 184,947 votes.

Preliminary results show the Likud party securing 27 mandates, Yesh Atid 21, and National Unity 12. The Joint List received 11 mandates, Democrats and Ra'am eight each, Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism seven each, and Yisrael Beiteinu, Shas, and Religious Zionism six mandates each. Further verification of results, including re-examination of ballot boxes and review of submitted appeals, will continue in the coming days. The final results are expected to be submitted to the President on Wednesday, November 4, 2026.