Israel Certifies Its Election Results, and the Fight for a Government Begins

President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results of Israel's October 27 election on Wednesday, closing the count and opening the contest to form a government. The results leave no bloc with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats. The opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot won 48. The Arab-led parties Ra'am and the Joint List won 19 between them, a record. A government needs 61 seats.

Herzog received the results at the President's Residence in Jerusalem from Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the Central Elections Committee and serves as deputy president of the Supreme Court. Herzog then began two days of consultations with the elected factions. He has until November 11 to assign the task of forming a government, and the lawmaker he chooses will have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension.

The certification vote

The committee said it reviewed records from 9,069 polling stations and found no irregularities that compromised the integrity of the vote or changed its result. Its acting director, Dean Livne, said every complaint had been examined individually and that the results accurately reflected the choices voters made.

The vote itself was split. In the committee's five-member presidium, representatives of Yesh Atid and Blue and White voted in favour, Likud and Shas abstained, and Sohlberg cast the deciding vote. In the full committee, 15 members voted in favour, two voted against and 14 abstained. Likud lawmaker Amit Halevi resigned from the committee in protest, arguing that suspicions of foreign interference had not been properly examined.

Sohlberg warned against casting doubt on the outcome. "In recent days, we have heard voices trying to cast doubt on the election results and to undermine their legitimacy. This is a real danger," he said. He added that the suspicions "in no way cast doubt on the voting of Arab society" and that a high voter turnout is a welcome thing.

The fraud claims

Netanyahu and his allies spent days arguing that Arab-led parties had manipulated the vote, possibly with foreign help. The Associated Press reported that those claims were made without evidence. On X, Netanyahu wrote that "the public in Israel does not want a government that depends on Ra'am and the Joint List — parties that support terrorism and reject the existence of the Jewish state." He also argued that Likud was the largest party and that a clear majority of Jewish voters had chosen it.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went further, writing on X that "the elections were stolen, the results are fraudulent, foreign countries interfered." He urged the Shin Bet security agency to detain Arab party leaders and question them until the suspicions were fully clarified. Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen accused Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu of trying to "steal the election from the public."

The Shin Bet briefed the committee on suspicions of foreign funding and influence operations in Arab communities. The Jerusalem Post named Qatar and Turkey as entities under suspicion. Qatar's foreign ministry denied a claim that it had paid to boost Arab turnout. Sohlberg said the suspicions remain suspicions only, and that even if they were confirmed, their effect would be limited. The investigation continues.

Herzog addressed the tone directly. He said Arab citizens, who make up about one fifth of Israel's population, "must not be smeared." He added: "I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently. There is no place for them toward any community in Israel."

What happens next

Herzog broke with custom by meeting the smaller factions first. Religious Zionism, Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu were scheduled for Wednesday. United Torah Judaism opens Thursday's sessions, with Eisenkot's Yashar party and then Likud closing the round on Thursday evening.

On the reported tallies of expected recommendations, neither side has 61 in hand. Ynet's tally put Eisenkot at 48 recommendations and Netanyahu at 46, with the Joint List, Ra'am and United Torah Judaism uncommitted. Eisenkot would reach 67 only if both Arab parties backed him. Herzog told the factions to compromise. "In order to prevent another round of elections and to build a stable and good government here for the people of Israel, I expect the factions and their representatives to understand that, in the current reality, not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled," he said.

He also noted the date. November 4 is the anniversary of the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, 31 years ago. "The election is over, and now it is time to face reality," Herzog said. The new Knesset is due to be sworn in on November 10, whether or not a government has been formed by then. If no one can build a coalition, Israel faces another election early next year.