Full coverage· Politics· Updated 09:24

Israeli Election Results Point to Repeat Vote or Unity Government

Partial results from Israel's 26th Knesset elections on Wednesday morning show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc leading but facing a potential coalition deadlock. With over half of the votes counted, the bloc is projected to fall short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority government, with media projections for the bloc ranging from 48 to 60 seats.

5 newsrooms · 3 languages · since 04:18

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Israeli Election Results Point to Repeat Vote or Unity Government — Illustration by baba

What happened

01With over half of the ballots counted in Israel's 26th Knesset elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc leads but faces a potential coalition deadlock.
02The Central Elections Committee's official count of 50.2% of the votes projects Likud to win 27 seats and Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar!" party to win 22 seats.
03Voter turnout in the general election reached approximately 77.7%, marking the highest turnout in 25 years.
04Several smaller parties, including the "Reservists" party with 2.65% of the vote, are currently falling below the 3.25% electoral threshold.
05The final makeup of the Knesset remains undecided and depends on the counting of "double envelope" votes from soldiers and diplomats.
06Gadi Eisenkot expressed his intention to form a "Zionist mobilization government" while opposing the prospect of holding repeat elections.
07Preliminary results showing Eisenkot's bloc trailing Netanyahu's make the formation of an Eisenkot-led minority government increasingly unlikely.

According to the Central Elections Committee, with 50.2% of the votes officially counted, the Likud party leads with 22.02% of the vote, projected to win 27 seats. Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar!" party follows with 15.46% of the vote, projected at 22 seats. The Joint List and Naftali Bennett's alliance are each projected at 11 seats, followed by the Democrats with 9, United Torah Judaism and Yisrael Beiteinu with 8 each, Shas and Otzma Yehudit with 7 each, Religious Zionism with 6, and Ra'am with 4.

Several smaller parties, including the "Reservists" party at 2.65%, are currently trailing below the 3.25% electoral threshold. Voter turnout reached a 25-year high of 77.7%. The final distribution of seats remains uncertain and hinges on the "double envelope" votes from soldiers and diplomats.

Netanyahu has called for the formation of a strong right-wing government, opposing reliance on Arab parties. Meanwhile, Eisenkot stated his intention to form a "Zionist mobilization government" and cautioned against further elections. However, preliminary results make a minority government led by Eisenkot increasingly unlikely, as his bloc trails Netanyahu's and would require significant support or abstentions from Arab parties.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 5 newsrooms. Updated 10:22

Latest report: Haaretz. Read Haaretz’s original