not everywhere· Politics· Updated 08:15

Israel Election: Netanyahu Bloc Nears Majority as 92% of Votes Counted

With over 91% of the votes counted in Israel's 26th Knesset elections, the political bloc supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads with 53 seats, while the opposition bloc is projected to win 48 seats. Neither bloc has yet reached the 61-seat majority required to form a government. Two Arab parties hold a combined 19 seats, with Ra'am gaining a mandate to reach 8 seats at the expense of the Joint List, which dropped to 11.

7 newsrooms · 3 languages · since 28 Oct, 21:09

Plus

Israel Election: Netanyahu Bloc Nears Majority as 92% of Votes Counted — Illustration by baba

Photos · 1

Photos the newsrooms posted about this story, and the ones the IDF and Magen David Adom released.

Official photos are free. 1 more with Plus.

What happened

01With 91.7% of votes counted, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc is projected to win 53 seats, falling short of a 61-seat majority.
02The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot is projected to secure 48 seats, while Arab parties hold 19 seats.
03The Likud party is the largest single party with 26 seats, followed by Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party with 21 seats.
04Ra'am gained a mandate to reach 8 seats, while the Joint List dropped to 11 seats as vote counting progressed.
05The counting of 430,000 to 480,000 votes from double envelopes began early Thursday at the Knesset parking lot.
06Voter turnout for the 26th Knesset elections reached 77.7%, with over 5.18 million votes processed by the Central Election Committee.
07Official final results of the election are expected to be announced no later than November 4, 2026.

The Likud party remains the largest single party with 26 seats, followed by Gadi Eisenkot's party, Yashar, with 21 seats. Other projected seat allocations include Naftali Bennett's Bayahad movement with 12 seats, the Democrats with 8 seats, and Yisrael Beiteinu, United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Otzma Yehudit each with 7 seats. The Religious Zionism and Identity alliance is projected to win 6 seats. The Reservists Party, the Economic Party, and the Am Israel Party are currently below the electoral threshold.

The Central Election Committee has processed over 5.18 million votes, representing a voter turnout of 77.7%. The counting of approximately 430,000 to 480,000 double envelopes, which began early Thursday morning in the Knesset parking lot, is expected to conclude on Thursday evening. Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that these preliminary figures are just the prelude to the true results, while opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot warned against further elections. The official final results are expected to be announced by November 4, 2026.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 7 newsrooms. Updated 08:41

Latest report: NEWSru Israel. Read NEWSru Israel’s original