Israeli President Isaac Herzog has said every effort must be made to avoid yet another election, after partial results from Tuesday’s vote showed that neither of the two main political blocs had won a majority in parliament.
“One thing must be clear, and I said this before the elections too: we must do everything we can” to prevent a new election, Herzog said on Wednesday, according to reports.
As president, Herzog plays a key role after an election. He consults the parties and then decides which candidate to task with trying to form a government.
What the Results Show
To govern, a party or coalition needs at least 61 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
With about 86% of votes counted, Israeli outlet Ynet reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s bloc of right-wing and religious parties was projected to win 53 seats, eight short of a majority. The opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot was projected at 48 seats, while Arab parties together were on course for 19 seats.
According to the same projections, Netanyahu’s Likud was the largest single party with 26 seats, followed by Eisenkot’s party with 21 seats. Other parties included the Joint List (13), Naftali Bennett’s party (12), the Democrats (8), and Yisrael Beytenu, United Torah Judaism, Shas and Otzma Yehudit, with around 7 seats each.
Counting Not Over
The figures could still change. More than half a million “double-envelope” ballots, including votes from soldiers, diplomats and others who cannot vote at their home polling stations, were still to be counted. These votes can shift the final distribution of seats, especially for parties close to the threshold for entering parliament.
Final, certified results are expected after further checks.
A Difficult Path to a Government
The results point to a difficult coalition-building process. Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has an obvious route to 61 seats without the support of parties that may be unwilling to work with them.
Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said his party was ready to help remove Netanyahu’s government. Netanyahu has warned against any government that relies on the support of Arab parties.
Israel will continue under a caretaker government while coalition talks take place.
Fear of Another Election
Israel went through five elections between 2019 and 2022 as deadlocked results repeatedly failed to produce stable governments. Herzog’s statement reflects widespread concern that the country could once again be heading for political paralysis.
By stressing that a new election must be avoided, Herzog is signalling to party leaders that they will be expected to compromise in order to form a working government.
Flashinfong will continue to follow developments as the final results are announced and coalition talks begin.