Update: All Israeli Votes Counted; Netanyahu Bloc Wins 53 Seats, Eisenkot Bloc 48
Neither camp is near the 61 seats needed to govern, Arab parties won a record 19 seats, and the new Knesset will be sworn in Nov. 10 while coalition talks go on.
Learn more ›JERUSALEM, Israel —
With every ballot counted in Israel's Oct. 27 election, parties backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats, parties opposed to him won 48, and Arab parties won 19, according to results the Central Elections Committee published early Friday, Oct. 30, the Times of Israel reported. Neither bloc is close to the 61 seats needed for a majority.
See where this is ›This is an update to our earlier reports, which had Netanyahu's bloc at 54 seats with most votes counted. Turnout was 77.9 percent, the highest in decades, with 5,716,665 votes cast. The pro-Netanyahu parties held 68 seats in the outgoing Knesset.
Seat totals by party: Likud 27, Yashar 21, B'Yachad 12, the Joint List 11, The Democrats 8, Ra'am 8, Yisrael Beytenu 7, United Torah Judaism 7, Otzma Yehudit 7, Shas 6 and Religious Zionism 6. The Joint List and Ra'am together won 19 seats, an all-time high for Arab parties and nearly double their current 10. Three lists fell below the 3.25 percent threshold: Yoaz Hendel's Reservists-Economic party (2.63 percent), Ofer Winter's People of Israel (1.7 percent) and The Charedi Public (0.2 percent).
See where this is ›Dean Livne, the committee's acting director, said claims of widespread voter fraud were baseless. “Reports published throughout the day are entirely unfounded,” he said, adding that a probe of reports of a possible Qatari influence campaign “will not affect the final results submitted to the president.” The Shin Bet security service said the suspicions remain unproven and do not implicate Arab voters as a whole, and police said there was no basis for Likud claims that the election was stolen, the Times of Israel reported.
The official results are due to President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, Nov. 4, after the committee finishes reviewing any errors or complaints. Herzog will then meet each party's leaders, who will recommend a candidate to form a government. “I expect everyone who comes here to come with an open mind,” Herzog said, urging leaders to avoid another election.
Learn more ›Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot have each vowed to form the next government. The Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on Nov. 10 whatever the state of coalition talks, which are expected to be difficult and could last more than two months.
