2026-10-27 21:39:09Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

The parliamentary elections in Israel have produced a close result, without a clear governing majority.

The three exit polls published immediately after the closing of the polling stations, by KAN 11, Channel 12 and Channel 13 television stations, show that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc does not reach a parliamentary majority, while the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot has a slight lead.

All three projections give Netanyahu's coalition 50 seats in the 120-seat parliament. KAN 11 and Channel 13 predict 53 seats for Eisenkot's bloc, while Channel 12 gives it 52 seats.

Arab parties secure 17 to 18 seats, becoming a potentially decisive factor in government formation.

According to projections published by The Jerusalem Post, neither of the two blocs reaches the threshold of 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.

Although the opposition has more mandates than the ruling coalition, the inclusion of Arab parties in a possible governing formula remains politically complicated.

Meanwhile, according to the Channel 13 exit poll, reported by Haaretz, Netanyahu's Likud is the largest party with 25 seats, compared to Eisenkot's Yashar's 23.

New parliamentary mathematics

According to Channel 13's projections, the distribution of mandates is:

Netanyahu Bloc – 50 seats: Likud 25, Otzma Yehudit 6, United Torah Judaism 7, Shas 6 and Religious Zionism 6.

Eisenkot Bloc – 53 seats: Yashar 23, Together 14, Democrats 9 and Yisrael Beiteinu 7.

Arab parties – 17 seats: Joint List 10 and United Arab List (Ra'am) 7.

At least 61 seats are needed to form a government. This means that neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot can achieve a majority with their current allies alone.

In this configuration, the support of Arab parties could become decisive, although some right-wing opposition leaders have previously opposed cooperation with them.

Record turnout, but political uncertainty

The elections were marked by an exceptionally high turnout. According to the Central Election Commission, 74.3% of voters had voted by 8:00 p.m., the highest level recorded at that time since 1988.

The October 27 vote is the first in Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the devastating war that followed in Gaza.

Netanyahu is seeking a seventh term as prime minister, after a political career that has seen him lead the country for about 19 years.

But the election result may not immediately determine who will govern.

In 2021, Likud emerged as the largest party, but Netanyahu failed to build a parliamentary majority. A broad opposition coalition took power, before being overthrown a year later.

Negotiations could last weeks.
Vote counting in Israel is initially carried out manually at around 12,000 polling stations, before the results are recorded electronically.

According to Israeli media reports, the counting process is not expected to be completed before Thursday afternoon.

Exit polls are only a preliminary indication and may differ from the official results, especially in such a close race.

Even after the counting is complete, forming a government could require weeks or months of negotiations between parties.


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