The key facts

  • According to Israel Hayom, the police and the elections committee found no evidence for Likud's fraud claims
  • Likud claimed Arab parties had 'stolen' the elections and submitted 'hundreds of testimonies' to the police, the Shin Bet and the committee
  • Netanyahu's bloc — 53 seats, Eisenkot's bloc — 48 out of 120; neither has reached 61

The commission and police see no grounds for concern

Israeli police found no evidence supporting the claims by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party about election fraud, and the Central Elections Committee currently sees no grounds for concern about the integrity of the vote. This was reported on Wednesday evening by the newspaper Israel Hayom, citing unnamed sources. According to the outlet, the committee's assessment contradicts Likud's claims of fraud at polling stations in Arab communities; the police also concluded that there was no evidence for these claims.

What Likud claimed

Earlier on Wednesday, Likud stated that Arab parties had 'stolen' the elections through bribery, intimidation, violence, document forgery and prohibited voter-mobilization software, and also accused them of supporting terrorism and seeking the destruction of the Jewish state. The party said it had handed over 'hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence' to the police, the Shin Bet and the elections committee, demanding an investigation. The committee confirmed receipt of the complaint and said it was reviewing it as part of its routine handling of election-integrity complaints from all parties.

Context: a record result for Arab parties and an unfinished count

The accusations came against the backdrop of the predominantly Arab parties — Ra'am and the Joint List — being projected to win a record combined 19 seats, leaving both Netanyahu's bloc and his main rival without a parliamentary majority. As early as Tuesday, the committee reported no signs of systematic ballot fraud and said individual reports were being promptly reviewed (according to The Times of Israel, as cited by Anadolu). With nearly 90% of votes counted, Netanyahu's bloc was projected to take 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, against 48 for the bloc of Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot — below the required 61. The figures remained preliminary: hundreds of thousands of 'double envelopes' — soldiers' and diplomats' votes — were still awaiting counting.