Vote Counting Has Been Completed In Israel's Parliamentary Elections

• 30.10.2026, 8:07

Netanyahu's bloc is in the lead, but without a majority.

Israel's Central Election Commission is wrapping up the vote count for the Knesset elections (parliament): 99.9% of ballots have been processed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc has won 53 of 120 seats, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eizenkot has 48, so neither bloc has the 61 seats needed for a majority.

This was reported by The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu’s Likud party received the most seats—27. Next are:


“Yashar” Gadi Eizenkot—21;
“Itog” Naftali Bennett—12;
the Arab “Joint List”—11;
the Arab party “Ra’am” and the left-wing “Democrats”—8 each;

the far-right “Otzma Yehudit,” the ultra-Orthodox “United Torah Judaism,” and “Our Home Israel” Avigdor Lieberman—7 each;
the ultra-Orthodox Shas and “Religious Zionism” led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich—6 each.

Exit polls were wrong

Most pre-election polls and exit polls on the evening of the vote, October 27, gave the Eizenkot bloc a lead of two to three seats. However, as the votes were tallied, both “Likud” and Netanyahu’s entire bloc pulled ahead.

The bulk of the votes on Thursday consisted of about 430,000–480,000 ballots cast by military personnel, diplomats, and other voters who voted outside their designated polling places. These votes are counted separately to ensure that no one voted twice.

Arab parties collectively won 19 seats—a record in Israel’s history and nearly double their representation in the current Knesset. Their voters turned out in record numbers to remove Netanyahu from power.

These votes would have been enough for the opposition to secure a comfortable majority. However, all parties in the Eizenkot bloc—except for the “Democrats”—had previously ruled out cooperation with Arab parties.

Netanyahu’s bloc is losing 15 seats compared to the current Knesset, where it holds 68. The final official results will be announced on November 4.