The key facts

  • Likud — 24.1%, Eisenkot's Yashar — 16.1%, Bennett's Together — 8.8% with 16.8% of ballots counted
  • Exit polls diverge: Channel 12 gives Netanyahu's bloc 52 seats, while the public broadcaster and Channel 13 show 51:51
  • No forecast gives either bloc the required 61 of 120 seats; turnout of 77.7% is a record since 1999

Interim results and the balance of power

The Likud party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading in the early parliamentary elections as votes are counted. According to the Central Elections Committee, cited by the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, 956,458 ballots have been processed — 16.8% of those cast. Likud receives 24.1%, followed by the Yashar party of former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot with 16.1%. Next come the Together alliance led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (8.8%), the Joint List (5.9%), and the United Arab List Ra’am (2.75%).

Exit polls give no bloc a majority

The partial count does not yet determine the final distribution of the 120 Knesset seats. The exit polls differ among themselves: a revised Channel 12 forecast gives Netanyahu's bloc 52 seats, the opposition led by Eisenkot 49, and the Arab parties 19, whereas updated polls by the public broadcaster and Channel 13 show a 51:51 tie, with 18 seats for the Arab parties. None of the forecasts gives either bloc the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority. Exit polls are surveys of voters, separate from the ongoing ballot count.

Record turnout

Turnout in the election reached 77.7% — the highest figure since 1999, according to the Central Elections Committee. Final results and the composition of the government will become known once the count is complete; at this point, no source reports a formed coalition.