According to Yedioth Ahronoth, with about 28% of votes counted, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc leads the opposition 50.4% to 49.6%. Neither bloc has yet secured the 61 seats needed in the Knesset. Turnout reached 77.7% — the highest since 1999.
Voter turnout in the Knesset elections reached a record 55.7% by 16:00, compared to 47.5% in the previous elections. Netanyahu and right-wing ministers urgently called on supporters to vote, fearing high turnout among Arab voters. According to polls, no bloc was guaranteed the 61 seats needed to form a government.
According to Bulgaria's Central Election Commission, after 95.3% of ballots were counted, no candidate received the share needed to win in the first round. Turnout was only 22.2%, while more than 50% was required. The runoff is scheduled for November 1. The campaign took place against the backdrop of disagreements over aid to Ukraine and incidents off the coast.
At Serbia's early parliamentary elections, 46% of voters had cast their ballots by 14:00 — almost a million more than at the same point in the December 2023 elections. The high turnout strengthens the hopes of the opposition 'Students' List' of unseating Aleksandar Vučić and his SNS, in power since 2012. The elections are the outcome of two years of student protests following the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station. In Serbia's snap parliamentary election, 46% of voters had cast their ballots by 14:00 — almost a million more than at the same point in the December 2023 election. The high turnout strengthens the opposition Student List's hopes of unseating Aleksandar Vucic and his SNS, which has been in power since 2012. The election is the outcome of two years of student protests following the collapse of the railway station canopy in Novi Sad.