Candidates on Edge as Knesset Election Results Remain Uncertain

Dozens of candidates are anxiously awaiting the final vote count in Israel's 26th Knesset elections, held on Tuesday, to determine if they have secured a seat. According to the latest Channel 14 poll, many candidates are on the borderline, with their election prospects hinging on a single mandate or the counting of double envelopes, which include soldiers' votes.

Polls and exit polls are subject to sampling errors of one or two mandates per party, meaning small shifts can dramatically alter election outcomes. This uncertainty means candidates who might celebrate on election night could find themselves outside the Knesset, or vice versa.

A prominent figure facing this uncertainty is Minister Ze'ev Elkin, currently ranked 32nd on the Likud list. With the poll predicting 30 mandates for Likud, Elkin, along with Shuki Ohana at 31st place, needs two additional mandates to be elected. Conversely, Yitzhak Bunzel and Moshe Benjamin Peretz, at 29th and 30th respectively, are projected to enter the Knesset just barely.

In other parties, the situation is similarly tense. For Yisrael Beiteinu, predicted to win 20 mandates, Tal Ohana and Elisef Peretz are the last ones in, while Yaffa Tevgeh and Nir Hajbi are waiting. In United Torah Judaism, with 11 mandates, Yonatan Shalev and Bruria Naim Armen are at the bottom of the list, needing a surprise to get in.

Shas's Uriel Buso and Yosef Tayeb are in the last spots, with Yonatan Mashriki and Yosef Elnatanov hoping for one more mandate. Otzma Yehudit's Hanamel Dorfman and Tzachi Eliyahu are barely making it, while Yosef Goldberger and Itiel Neiman are hoping for growth. In Yahadut HaTorah, the fates of Yehuda Weispesh and Yoel Tesler depend on every vote, with David Zaltz and David Ohana next in line. In Religious Zionism-Identity, Itamar Itam and MK Zvi Sukkot are precariously holding their places, while Yitzhak Zaga and Reut Ben Haim are currently outside.

For the Democrats, Omri Ronen and MK Michal Rozin are entering on the edge, while protest leader Moshe Radman and Sumia Bashir need more mandates. In Yisrael Beiteinu, with five mandates in the poll, MK Oded Forer and MK Yulia Malinovsky are fighting for their spots, with Sharon Sharabi and Hamad Amar waiting for a shift. In the Joint List, Yosef Elatawna and Maha Karkabi-Sabach are entering in the last positions, with Ahmed Darawsheh and Nahaya Wishahi waiting behind them. In Ra'am, MK Iman Khatib-Yassin and Yasser Khujirat are barely getting in, with Ibrahim Al-Touri and Abd al-Karim Masri hoping for a surprise.