Exit polls from Israel’s legislative elections on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, indicated a political deadlock, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his primary challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, appearing to secure a governing majority. Major television networks reported that the 120-seat Knesset remains divided between Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc and an opposition alliance around Eisenkot’s Yashar party. Preliminary projections showed the two main blocs nearly tied, with neither reaching the 61 seats required to form a government.
The vote marked the first national election since the October 7, 2023, attacks and served as a verdict on Netanyahu’s wartime leadership. The campaign was defined by domestic security concerns and conflicts involving Hamas, Lebanon, and Iran. Netanyahu, who has served a combined 19 years in office, emphasized his wartime leadership and his alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump. Conversely, Eisenkot and opposition leader Yair Lapid characterized the results as a rejection of the current administration.
Turnout for the election reached 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades, according to the Central Elections Committee. More than 5.4 million Israelis had voted by 8 p.m. local time, and over 7 million people were eligible to participate. While exit polls from Channel 13 and Kan 11 showed the two main blocs tied at 51 seats each, an updated poll from Channel 12 placed Netanyahu’s bloc slightly ahead with 52 seats compared to 49 for Eisenkot’s bloc. Arab-led parties, which were projected to win between 17 and 18 seats, could hold a deciding role in coalition negotiations, though both major blocs have historically avoided partnering with them.
A person living in Israel will likely notice a period of political maneuvering rather than immediate changes to domestic or security policy. Because no single party has ever won 61 seats outright in the Knesset, the day-to-day administration will depend on which small factions agree to join a coalition. The outcome also carries implications for regional stability and international relations; U.S. President Donald Trump stated before the polls opened that he considered Netanyahu the only "right leader" for the unresolved conflict with Iran, suggesting that a change in leadership could alter U.S. involvement in regional military efforts.
The next steps involve the counting of official ballots, with preliminary results expected in the coming hours and final results expected within days. Following the final count, Israel's president will task the party leader with the best prospect of forming a government to begin coalition talks. Similar stalemates between 2019 and 2022 resulted in five separate elections. If a coalition is not formed, the current government remains in place until a successor is sworn in.