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.
Israel’s partial election count put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc ahead but short of a governing majority. The Central Elections Committee’s figures, with 55% of votes counted on the morning of 28 October, left both Netanyahu’s bloc and former army chief Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition alliance below the 61-seat threshold.
Voting ended at 10pm local time on 27 October for all 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. It was the first general election since the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023 and the subsequent Gaza war. Netanyahu sought to extend his tenure with a Likud-led coalition of far-right ultranationalists and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties; the opposition alliance included Eisenkot’s Yashar party.
| Bloc | Seats |
|---|---|
| Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc | 56 |
| Eisenkot’s alliance | 49 |
These figures come from a partial count, not a completed allocation of parliamentary seats. Television exit polls released on 27 October had also indicated no clear governing majority, but those polls were unofficial estimates subject to error. Neither the exit polls nor the partial count establishes a winner or a governing coalition.
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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The committee said more than 5.69 million of about 7.33 million eligible voters cast ballots. Participation rose by about 7.1 percentage points from 2022, reaching its highest level since 1999.
| Election year | Turnout |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 77.7% |
| 2022 | 70.63% |
| 1999 | 78.7% |
The committee rejected a request from Likud and its allies to extend voting hours on 27 October, France 24 said in its coverage with AFP, AP and Reuters. The decision gave voters no additional time under that request.
Accountability for alleged security failures before the 2023 attack was a central campaign issue, Al Jazeera said in its 27 October campaign account. Netanyahu’s challengers largely focused their disagreements on competence, timing and responsibility for those alleged failures, rather than proposing changes to the treatment of Palestinians.
Disputes over military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews and efforts to exclude Arab-led parties also dominated the campaign. Ultra-Orthodox parties helped sustain Netanyahu’s coalition. At that stage, none of the mainstream candidates had discussed including Arab-led parties in a potential government, Al Jazeera said.
Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have previously refused to form a coalition with Arab-led parties, Al Jazeera said in its 28 October account. Those positions constrain their choices as they seek enough parliamentary support to govern.
In an assessment published on 27 October, Ahron Bregman, an Israeli analyst and senior teaching fellow at King’s College London, said a new prime minister would likely ease domestic tensions. He cautioned against expecting a major policy change: in his assessment, Israel had moved sharply to the right after 7 October 2023, and any new government would reflect that shift.
The final vote tally is expected by 30 October, with official election results due for formal publication on 4 November. Once the count is final, parties will negotiate to try to reach a majority.
President Isaac Herzog will consult party leaders about their preferred prime minister and nominate the candidate he believes has the best chance of forming a government. The nominee will have up to 42 days to do so.
If no government emerges, Netanyahu and his cabinet will remain in a caretaker role. If negotiations fail and no coalition can form a government, new elections will be called.
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.
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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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