Israeli exit polls leave Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs short of a majority

Exit polls after Israel’s October 27 election projected no parliamentary majority for either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc or the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, Al Jazeera reported. The projections leave the choice of Israel’s next prime minister unresolved while votes are counted.

Al Jazeera reported projections of 50 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc and 52 or 53 for Eisenkot’s. A majority in the 120-seat Knesset requires 61 seats. The Associated Press reported the same ranges for the two blocs and cautioned that exit polls can contain errors, so final results may differ.

Why the projected seats leave the government undecided

The Guardian reported that a Channel 12 exit poll projected 52 seats for parties opposing Netanyahu, 50 for parties supporting him and 18 for Palestinian-led parties. Likud remained the largest individual party in that poll, with a projected 24 seats, compared with 22 for Eisenkot’s Yashar party. The bloc figures therefore show an opposition lead without making Yashar the largest party.

When Israel expects election results

Polling stations closed at 10 p.m. local time on October 27. Al Jazeera said preliminary results were expected on October 28, a final tally on October 30 and publication of the official results on November 4. Exit polls are projections drawn from interviews with voters after they cast their ballots; the count will establish the actual distribution of seats.

Turnout had reached 74.3% by 8 p.m. local time, according to Central Elections Committee data cited by Al Jazeera. The outlet put turnout in the 2022 election at 70.63%. The October 27 figure was recorded two hours before polling stations closed, providing an indication of participation while the election outcome remained open.