Partial results from Israel’s parliamentary election show no clear winner as of Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc led opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party in the official tally, but neither side commanded the 61-seat majority required to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset. Overall, opposition groups, including Arab-led factions, secured more total votes than the incumbent's bloc.
The election, the first since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza, saw a voter turnout of more than 77%, the highest in over 20 years. Tens of thousands of expatriates returned to Israel to cast ballots. Despite the lead for Netanyahu’s Likud party, his traditional religious and right-wing allies remained short of a majority, while Eisenkot’s bloc also lacked the numbers to govern without partnering with factions they had previously ruled out.
Both leaders addressed supporters on Wednesday. Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff, stated the public had "voted for change," while Netanyahu claimed a "decisive majority among the Zionist public." Netanyahu’s Likud party also alleged that Arab parties had "stolen" the election and stated they were providing evidence to the police. Critics characterized the claim as a tactic to prevent the opposition from forming a coalition with Arab factions.
The results affect specific groups, particularly Arab citizens who make up 20% of the population. Two Arab-led factions, Raam and the Joint List, emerged as potential kingmakers with a projected 19 seats combined. However, both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have resisted partnering with them. If no coalition is formed within statutory deadlines, the default legal procedure is a repeat election. This follows a precedent set between 2019 and 2022, when the country held five elections due to similar parliamentary deadlocks.
What happens next: The Central Elections Committee expects to finish counting all ballots, including those from soldiers, by Thursday afternoon, Oct. 29. President Isaac Herzog stated he expects to receive the official results next week, at which point he will begin consultations with each party faction. Once a candidate is selected to form a government, they will have a six-week deadline to finalize a governing coalition through negotiations. If these efforts fail, the Knesset will be dissolved, and fresh elections will be scheduled.