Israel's Count Leaves Both Blocs Short
With about 90% of votes counted, Israel's partial official results give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc 53 seats, Gadi Eisenkot's bloc 48 and Arab-led parties a record 19. Neither bloc has the 61 needed to govern. Absentee ballots are still being counted.
Neither side in Israel's election has a majority in the partial official count. With about 90% of votes counted, the Central Elections Committee's figures give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats, the bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot 48, and the Arab-led Joint List and Ra'am 19, a record for Arab-led parties. A government needs 61 seats. Netanyahu's Likud is the largest party with 26 seats, ahead of Eisenkot's Yashar with 21. Exit polls on election night had projected the two blocs roughly tied. The committee began counting an estimated 430,000 to 480,000 "double-envelope" ballots, cast by soldiers, diplomats, prisoners and hospital patients, at 1 a.m. Israel time. Those votes could shift seats between parties where margins are narrow, according to Israel National News and The Times of Israel. These results are partial and can still change seat totals.
The partial count
The committee's figures held steady through several updates, according to Ynet and Israel National News. In the latest, with about 90.5% of votes counted, the seats by party were, according to Ynet and Israel National News:
- Likud 26
- Yashar 21
- Joint List 12
- B'Yachad (Together) 12
- Democrats 8
- Ra'am, Yisrael Beiteinu, United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit and Shas 7 each
- Religious Zionism-Zehut 6
That puts Netanyahu's bloc at 53, Eisenkot's at 48, and the Arab-led parties at 19, according to Ynet, The Guardian and Israel National News.
The ballots still out
The committee estimates 430,000 to 480,000 double-envelope ballots, cast at special sites including military bases, prisons and hospitals and by diplomats, according to The Guardian and The Times of Israel. Counting began at 1 a.m. Israel time, after verification, Israel National News reported; a committee spokesperson had said counting would start around then, The Guardian reported. The extra votes could shift seats between parties where margins are narrow, according to Israel National News and The Times of Israel.
Exit polls versus the count
Exit polls on election night had projected the two blocs roughly tied. The official count has put Netanyahu's bloc ahead of Eisenkot's but short of a majority, according to The Guardian and Ynet.