Israel’s final election count left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc with 53 seats, short of a majority in the 120-member Knesset, and made coalition talks uncertain.
Israel’s Central Elections Committee released the results early Friday, Oct. 30. It confirmed that neither Netanyahu’s camp nor the opposition had won the 61 seats needed to govern. The opposition bloc, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, won 48 seats.
Arab-led parties took the remaining 19 seats, a record total for those parties combined. Likud, Netanyahu’s party, emerged as the largest single party with 27 seats, ahead of Eisenkot’s Yashar with 21 and Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad with 12. Turnout was 77.9%, with more than 5.7 million ballots cast.
Both major camps need support from outside their blocs to form a governing majority. Cooperation with the Arab-led parties is politically contentious, and some opposition figures have ruled it out. The final count means weeks of negotiations lie ahead, and another election is possible if no coalition can be formed.
The committee is expected to submit the formal results to President Isaac Herzog on Nov. 4. He will consult party representatives before deciding which lawmaker should try to form the next government.