No Clear Winner in Israel's Election: Coalition Negotiations Expected
In the general elections held in Israel, no political bloc achieved a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. While Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party objected to the election results, President Herzog began preparations for coalition talks.
Following the general elections held in Israel, exit projections showed that the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rival bloc of former military chief Gadi Eisenkot failed to reach the 61-seat majority required to form a government. With the finalization of the election results, a period of coalition bargaining expected to last for weeks begins in the country.
According to local media projections, Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud party and its allies won 53 seats, Eisenkot's Yashar party and its allies won 48, and Arab parties secured 19 seats. While final results are expected to be announced by the end of the week, Prime Minister Netanyahu continues to serve at the head of the caretaker government.
Arab parties achieved historic success by winning approximately 15% of the votes in the elections. However, the Likud party claimed that the elections were 'stolen' by Arab parties and demanded an investigation with serious accusations such as bribery, violence, and irregularities. The Central Election Committee announced that it has taken up the application for review.
President Isaac Herzog stated that he will receive the official results from the Supreme Court deputy president next week and will begin consultations with all political groups to prevent a new election process. On the other hand, it was reported that the turnout among Israeli military personnel increased by more than six points compared to the previous election, reaching 79.9%, and hundreds of thousands of military ballots have not yet been counted.