Israel faces coalition deadlock after inconclusive election
publishers 36articles 41first reported 27 Oct, 02:00 UTCdeveloping since 27 Oct · 6 editionstop 25 #23
Israel’s parliamentary election produced no clear winner, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot without straightforward paths to a governing majority.
With about 84% to 85% of ballots counted Wednesday, Israeli media tallies cited by Al Jazeera projected Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition at 54 seats and Eisenkot’s opposition bloc at 49. Middle East Eye reported slightly different figures from a similar stage of counting, putting the blocs at 53 and 48 seats, respectively. A majority requires 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
Likud was set to remain the largest individual party, according to the BBC. Netanyahu called for a “strong” right-wing government, while Eisenkot, a former military chief who heads the Yashar party, said voters had chosen to end Netanyahu’s tenure.
Turnout exceeded 77%, the highest level in nearly three decades. Parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel also made substantial gains. Middle East Eye projected the Joint List and Ra’am to hold a combined 19 seats, potentially making their support important to coalition arithmetic, although most Israeli political leaders have pledged not to include them in a government.
Coalition negotiations are expected to begin after the final count. The political uncertainty also affected markets, with the benchmark Tel Aviv 125 stock index falling as much as 3.5% in early Wednesday trading.
HOW THIS STORY WAS MADE
Written from 8 articles, 3 with the publisher's own text; 8 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 36 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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- Source articles
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- Given to the writer
- 8, 3 with the article's own text
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- This version written
- 36 h after the record first saw the story
- Second model (editor)
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