Parliamentary elections begin in Israel — the first since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023

Polling stations open and the scale of the vote

On the morning of October 27, parliamentary elections began in Israel: polling stations opened at 7:00 local time and will close at 22:00, the country's Central Elections Committee reported. The outlet Anadolu notes that more than 7.3 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots, choosing the composition of the 120-seat Knesset. A total of 12,018 polling stations and about 18,000 ballot boxes have been prepared, with roughly 100,000 election workers deployed. Kun.uz, citing Meduza, notes that these are the first elections since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023.

Participants and the parliamentary threshold

Sources differ on the number of participants: Anadolu reports 37 parties and electoral lists, while Kun.uz, citing Meduza, names 36 parties. To enter the Knesset, a party must win at least 3.25% of the vote; according to polls, 11–13 parties may clear this threshold. The main contenders are said to be the Likud party of incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Yashar party of former Chief of the General Staff Gadi Eisenkot, and the Together alliance led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

What the polls say and what depends on negotiations

To form a government on its own, a party needs at least 61 of the 120 mandates. According to polls conducted in the days before the vote, Likud and Yashar appear as the main rivals, but neither achieves such a result — so a coalition government is expected. As Kun.uz notes, whether Netanyahu keeps the post of prime minister and whether Likud can lead a coalition will depend on the outcome of the vote and subsequent negotiations between the parties. The final results and the composition of the future coalition will be known after the polling stations close.