Netanyahu bloc secures 53 seats as Israel ends vote count

Vote count completed

Israel's Central Elections Committee announced Thursday that it has completed counting special ballots from Tuesday's parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc secured 53 seats, leaving him short of the 61-seat majority required to form a government in the 120-member Knesset.

The committee said it had processed ballots from 12,644 polling stations totaling nearly 5.6 million votes, with a turnout of 77.7% marking the highest participation rate since 1999. Special ballots — cast by soldiers, prisoners, diplomats and hospitalized voters who could not vote at regular polling stations — altered individual party tallies without changing the overall bloc distribution, though final certified results will not be released until Nov. 4.

Seat distribution

Netanyahu's Likud party gained one seat to reach 27 following the special ballot count, while the ultra-Orthodox Shas party dropped from seven to six, according to the Ynet news website. Among Arab parties, Ra'am increased its representation to eight seats as the Joint List fell to 11, with the two factions holding a combined 19 seats that could prove decisive in coalition negotiations. The opposition bloc — comprising former army chief Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party, Naftali Bennett's Together alliance, Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid, Yair Golan's Democrats and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu — secured 48 seats total.

Government formation

President Isaac Herzog will consult parliamentary factions after the official results are announced on Nov. 4, then appoint a lawmaker to form the next government. The new Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on Nov. 10, setting a tight timeline for coalition talks in a fragmented political landscape where neither bloc commands a clear majority.