Jerusalem, Oct 28 — Israel's parliamentary election appeared to have produced no clear winner, with exit polls indicating that both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc and the opposition alliance seeking to replace him had fallen short of the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the exit polls projected Netanyahu's bloc to secure 51-52 seats, while the opposition bloc, comprising Yashar, B'Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu and the Democrats, was expected to win 49-51 seats. Channels 11 and 13 projected both sides to be tied at 51 seats each, while Channel 12's survey gave Netanyahu's bloc a slight edge with 52 seats. The opposition bloc declared victory shortly after the exit poll results were released, although neither side appeared to have a clear route to forming a government.
The exit polls also indicated that the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces, could emerge with a slight advantage over Netanyahu's right-wing and far-right coalition in terms of the combined strength of its constituent parties. However, Netanyahu's Likud was projected to remain the single largest party, with around 27 seats, while Yashar was forecast to win 21-22 seats.
The results suggested that Netanyahu continued to retain the support of a substantial core of Likud voters despite widespread opposition to his leadership among sections of the Israeli electorate. Nevertheless, the projected seat distribution indicated that his ability to form another coalition government could be constrained by the opposition's combined strength and the potential influence of smaller parties.
The election witnessed a historic voter turnout and was described by some as one of the most consequential in Israel's history. It was also marked by record participation among Israeli Arab voters, adding another significant dimension to the electoral contest.
Exit polls projected that Israeli Arab parties could collectively secure as many as 18 seats in the Knesset, potentially giving them considerable leverage during the negotiations to form the next government. Their projected strength could make them kingmakers in what is expected to be a prolonged coalition-building process, particularly if Netanyahu's bloc fails to gather the support required to reach the majority threshold, according to The Guardian.
With neither camp appearing to have a straightforward path to the required 61 seats, the final distribution of seats and the positions adopted by smaller parties were expected to play a decisive role in determining the next government.
Voter turnout in Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday reached 77.7 per cent of eligible voters by the time polling stations closed at 10 p.m. local time, according to the final update from Israel's Central Elections Committee, which oversees the vote.
The turnout was the highest recorded in an Israeli election in 27 years, exceeding the 2022 figure by more than seven percentage points.