Israel election: Who gets the first chance to form a government?
No clear path after election
The October 27 national ballot left neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor former military chief Gadi Eisenkot with a clear route to a parliamentary majority. President Isaac Herzog must select the candidate he believes has the best chance of building a coalition.
At talks on Wednesday and Thursday, 67 of the 120 elected lawmakers backed Eisenkot, while 46 supported Netanyahu. Herzog said those figures did not settle the question because of competing vetoes within and between blocs.
Herzog to decide Sunday
Herzog said he would announce his choice on Sunday. He also plans personal discussions with some party leaders over the Israeli weekend, which runs from Friday to Saturday.
The person chosen will have 28 days to assemble a government, with a possible extension of 14 days. Netanyahu will continue leading a caretaker government until a coalition is formed; if no candidate succeeds, another election must be held.
Coalition arithmetic remains difficult
Netanyahu’s Likud won 27 seats, the most of any party, but his broader religious-nationalist coalition secured 53. Eisenkot’s four-party coalition, spanning centre-left to right-wing Jewish-led parties, won 48 seats, despite polls suggesting a close contest.
Two parties representing Israel’s Arab minority won 19 seats, an unprecedented total. Both endorsed Eisenkot, although he and Netanyahu have ruled out forming a government with the Arab-led parties.
Dispute over vote integrity
United Torah Judaism, a major ultra-Orthodox party and longtime Netanyahu ally, declined on Thursday to recommend a candidate. Netanyahu has cited an election officials’ investigation into possible vote tampering and accused Arab-led parties of stealing the vote; critics say he and his partners are seeking to undermine the results, which he denies.
Israel’s Central Election Committee said on Wednesday that the election’s integrity had not been compromised. Committee head Noam Sohlberg urged elected officials to protect public trust, saying peaceful transfers of power are fundamental to democracy.
Key points
- Herzog is expected to name his preferred candidate on Sunday.
- Eisenkot received endorsements from 67 lawmakers, compared with 46 for Netanyahu.
- Netanyahu’s coalition won 53 seats, while Eisenkot’s coalition won 48.
- The Central Election Committee said the election’s integrity was not compromised.