No bloc reaches 61 seats

Final results from Israel's general election, released on Friday 30 October, leave no bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-led bloc finished first with 53 seats, eight short of the 61 needed to govern, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party won 48. Arab-led parties won the remaining 19 seats, a record showing that makes them central to any coalition arithmetic. Likud remained the largest single party with 27 seats, followed by Yashar with 21, while the Joint List won 11 and Ra'am eight.

A record turnout, and disputed claims

The Central Elections Committee reported final turnout of 77.9 per cent, with 5,716,665 ballots cast, of which 5,690,778 were valid. Netanyahu's camp had claimed the election was stolen by Arab parties, with allegations of foreign interference, but the committee's director general, Dean Livne, said the investigation would not affect the results submitted to the president and that there was no basis for claims of systematic violations. The results remain subject to minor corrections during routine verification, including checks of polling stations, data-entry errors and complaints, before formal submission.

Weeks of coalition talks ahead

The official results are due to be submitted to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday 4 November, after which the person tasked with forming a government will have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension, to assemble at least 61 seats. The new Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on 10 November. Netanyahu remains in charge in the meantime, but his bloc's fall from 68 seats in the outgoing Knesset to 53 means any new government will require difficult bargaining across very different parties, or Israel could face another election if talks fail.

Sources: IANS | New York Post