Benjamin Netanyahu leads partial count in Israel’s elections
The political landscape in Israel is beginning to take shape following this Tuesday’s election day. With 28% of the votes counted, the Likud party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is in the lead with 22.2% of the ballots. It is followed by the Yashar! party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, with 15.4%, and the Together coalition, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, which has reached 8.2%.
Seven hours after the closing of the polling stations, the official count has processed approximately 1.6 million ballots from 3,906 polling places. In total, the country recorded a historic turnout of 77.7%, marking the highest figure since 1999 and exceeding by eight percentage points the attendance recorded in the 2022 elections.
A complex scenario for government formation
Despite the initial lead, the bloc led by Netanyahu is facing difficulties in reaching the 61 seats necessary to secure an absolute majority. The former prime minister has called for caution, urging to wait for the final results, although he has reaffirmed his intention to form a right-wing executive that excludes Arab and anti-Zionist parties.
Netanyahu bets on a right-wing government, maintaining his stance of not integrating Arab parties into his future administration.
For its part, the opposition bloc is also far from guaranteeing a clear majority, making Arab parties a key piece for governability. Projections suggest that these groups could obtain up to 19 seats, a decisive figure to tip the balance in parliament.
Expectation for the final results
The scrutiny process is expected to continue throughout Wednesday. Background information indicates that the final consolidation of votes is usually known during the early afternoon hours, just as it occurred in the previous electoral cycle.
- Citizen participation: 77.7%.
- Votes processed: 28%.
- Key point: The influence of Arab parties in the formation of a new government.
