Counting of all ballot boxes except 'double envelope' votes in Israeli elections completed
In the elections held in Israel, 85 percent of the votes were counted; Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs cannot reach the 61 MPs required to form a government.
Quick Look
- 85 percent of the ballot boxes have been opened in Israel.
- According to current results, the blocs led by Netanyahu and Eisenkot cannot reach the majority of 61 MPs required to form a government in the 120-seat parliament.
- Palestinian representative parties are in a key position with 19 seats.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The Israeli Parliament consists of 120 seats and the support of 61 MPs is required to form a government.
According to the information shared by Israel's Channel 13 television, as of 14.30 local time (15:30 GMT), the ruling bloc led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had 53 MPs, and the opposition bloc led by former Chief of General Staff Gadi Eisenkot had 48 MPs in all ballot boxes except "double envelopes". If the entire count ends like this, both Eisenkot and Netanyahu blocs cannot reach the support of 61 MPs required to form a coalition government in the 120-seat Israeli Parliament.
RECORD SEAT IN PALESTINE REPRESENTATIVE PARTIES
The opened ballot boxes correspond to approximately 85 percent of the total votes. With the unconfirmed official results counted so far, the parties representing Palestinian Israeli citizens have reached a record number of seats, sending 19 deputies to the Parliament and are considered to be in a key position.
The Joint List, which consists of the combination of three parties, has 12 MPs, while the Raam Party led by Mansur Abbas has 7 MPs.
In the current table, the ruling Likud Party led by Netanyahu has 26 seats, while Eisenkot's Yashar Party is in second place with 21 seats.
On the opposition wing, the "Together List" of former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid has 12 seats, Avigdor Liberman's Israel Our Home Party has 7 seats, and the Democrats Party led by Yair Golan has 8 seats.
'DOUBLE ENVELOPE VOTES WILL BE COMPLETED TOMORROW'
Shas and United Torah Judaism, representing the Ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredis) in the ruling bloc, and Netanyahu's far-right allies, Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power Party, are expected to win 7 seats each, while Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism Party is expected to win 6 seats.
According to the news of Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, the counting of approximately 600 thousand double envelope votes is expected to start tonight and be completed tomorrow. These votes correspond to approximately 15 percent of the total vote.
Despite the possibility of a few changes in the distribution of MPs, the scenario in which Netanyahu or his rival Eisenkot cannot obtain a sufficient majority to form a government remains valid.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The counting of double envelope votes will be completed tomorrow.
Very likely · Within days
Open Questions
- Will the number of seats of the blocks change as a result of double envelope votes?
- How will the government formation process proceed?
