Tel Aviv, Oct 27. (dpa/GNA) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party, emerged as the largest party in Israel’s parliamentary election on Tuesday, according to exit polls, but neither his camp nor his political rivals secured an outright majority.
Leading Israeli television broadcasters, projected that Likud would win 24 to 25 seats in the 120-member Knesset, making it the largest single party in the legislature, followed by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar party with 21 to 23 seats.
The opposition parties, led by Eisenkot’s Yashar, were projected to win two to three more seats combined than Netanyahu and his allies, who were expected to secure just 50 seats.
Arab parties were projected to win 17 to 18 seats, meaning a majority would in principle be possible with them in a coalition, but many parties from both Netanyahu’s camp and that of his opponents reject this.
With neither side reaching the 61 seats needed for a majority, it remained unclear who would become Israel’s next prime minister.
Vote counting was under way on Tuesday night, with the country potentially facing weeks of difficult coalition negotiations.
Reacting to the exit polls, Eisenkot said the results pointed to an “absolute lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the government responsible for October 7 among the majority of Israeli citizens.”
He described the projected outcome as “a victory for Israel’s Zionist, national majority” and vowed to “act immediately to carry out the people’s decision” by replacing Netanyahu’s government if the results were confirmed.
In a sign of how much Israelis felt was at stake, turnout was exceptionally high, with the Central Elections Committee reporting the highest participation at that stage of an election since 1988.
By 8 pm (1800 GMT), two hours before polling stations closed, 74.3% of the country’s roughly 7.3 million eligible voters had cast their ballots, compared with 66.3% at the same point in the previous election in 2022.
Overall turnout in that election was 70.6%. Witnesses reported long queues outside polling stations in Tel Aviv and predominantly Arab cities.
According to media reports, more than 70,000 Israelis travelled home from abroad to vote, as most citizens are not permitted to cast their ballots overseas.
The election, the first since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent Gaza war, was seen as a watershed moment for the country. At stake was whether Netanyahu would remain in power or whether his political opponents could muster enough support to bring about a change of government.
However, experts expect little fundamental change in Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians, even under a possible opposition government.
Netanyahu, 77, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has dominated the country’s politics for decades.
GNA