Ruling and opposition camps fall short of majority - right-wing Likud party - Netanyahu keen to continue in power - Israeli general election

[Jerusalem Current Affairs] Voting has closed for the Israeli general election on the 27th, and vote counting has begun. Both the ruling party bloc, led by Prime Minister Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, and the anti-Netanyahu bloc, including Yashar, a centrist opposition party led by former military chief of staff General Eisenkot, are expected to fall short of a majority. Future negotiations to form a new coalition government are likely to be difficult.

In the general election, 120 seats in the unicameral parliament were contested. According to exit polls from three local TV stations, Likud will be the leading party with 27 seats, while Netanyahu's camp, including other parties, is expected to win around 51 seats. On the other hand, Yashar will remain in second place in the anti-Netanyahu camp with 21 to 22 seats, but the entire camp is likely to have around 51 seats. Two Arab parties that are not affiliated with either party are expected to win a total of 18 seats.

Preliminary opinion polls had predicted that Yashar would be the leading party, but Likud made a comeback in the final stages, and the ruling camp is expected to secure the most power. Mr. Netanyahu gave a speech early on the 28th, saying that he had to wait for the official results of the vote counting, but emphasized that ``Likud is the largest party.'' He expressed his desire to continue in power, calling for ``a strong right-wing government to be established'' that excludes Arab political parties.

According to election officials, the turnout was 77.7%, the highest in any election since 2001. It appears that many Arab citizens, who have often boycotted elections in the past, turned out to vote.