Projections for the October 27 parliamentary election put Gadi Eisenkot’s allies on 52 seats and Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc on 50, leaving both needing more support to reach the 61-seat majority.
Israeli television projections put Gadi Eisenkot’s Change bloc narrowly ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc after the October 27, 2026 parliamentary election. Neither projected total reached the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
Netanyahu’s bloc won 64 seats in the November 1, 2022 election, and his government took office on December 29 that year.
The Hollywood Reporter said on October 27 that most local television decision desks projected the following totals. It described Eisenkot, a former military leader, as heading the center-right Yashar party, with B’Yachad as its main ally. Netanyahu leads Likud.
| Bloc | Projected seats |
|---|---|
| Change bloc: Yashar and B’Yachad | 52 |
| Netanyahu’s bloc | 50 |
These figures are television projections, not an official tally from Israel’s Central Elections Committee. Voters choose party lists rather than individual candidates; parties receive seats in proportion to their nationwide vote, provided they pass the 3.25% threshold.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s alliance leads Gadi Eisenkot’s in partial projections, but neither reaches the 61-seat majority. Official results are due on November 4, while coalition negotiations could take considerably longer.
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Eisenkot previously served alongside Netanyahu. He joined the emergency unity government through National Unity on October 11, 2023, following the October 7 attacks, and served as a war-cabinet observer. National Unity left the government in June 2024.
The counting procedure includes special double-envelope ballots, used by voters such as soldiers voting away from their assigned polling stations. These are counted after other ballots. Officials check the identifying details on the outer envelope against polling-station records to prevent double voting, then pass the sealed ballot to a separate team for counting. The Central Elections Committee publishes the results.
A narrow projected lead does not automatically give either bloc the task of forming a government. Israel’s president controls that assignment. On the projected figures, either side would need support beyond its bloc to reach a parliamentary majority.
With 55% of votes counted on 28 October, the election committee’s partial figures put Gadi Eisenkot’s alliance at 49 seats. Both blocs remain below the 61-seat majority, leaving the final count and coalition talks ahead.
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Israel’s election committee has restricted Likud’s use of Elector over privacy concerns; the party plans to use Victory 26 for Tuesday’s vote.
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