Israel's Central Elections Committee approves Knesset election results
The leadership of Israel's Central Elections Committee has approved the results of the October 27 elections to the Knesset (the unicameral parliament).
This was reported by the N12 television channel.
According to its information, three members of the committee's top leadership voted in favor of approving the election results, while two abstained. "All appeals from the parties have been reviewed, and no violations that could have affected the integrity of the elections were found," the channel quoted the commission's statement as saying.
On November 4, the Central Elections Committee will officially hand over the election results to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, after which he will begin consultations with the leaders of the parties that entered the 26th Knesset in order to determine the name of the lawmaker who will be tasked with forming a government. This procedure may take several days. The first candidate for the post of prime minister will be given 28 days to form a cabinet, with the possibility of extending this period by two weeks. In the event of failure, the president will transfer this right to another lawmaker, who will be allotted two weeks to accomplish the task without the possibility of an extension.
In the course of the parliamentary elections, no political force gained a decisive advantage. Following the counting of 100% of the ballots, first place was taken by the right-wing Likud party led by incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which received 27 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Second place went to the leading opposition party Yashar, headed by Gadi Eisenkot, which took 21 seats.
In total, the bloc of the Likud party and its allied far-right and religious forces, which form the current ruling coalition, receives 53 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, while the united opposition gets 48 seats. Another 19 seats will go to Arab parties, but neither Likud nor the opposition is so far prepared to enter into a coalition with them.
Meanwhile, forming a new ruling coalition requires a majority of 61 seats, and so far no political force can come close to this mark. If none of the contenders for the post of prime minister is able to form a stable coalition, new elections will be called in 90 days. Netanyahu will continue to head Israel's government until the new cabinet is sworn in.
