Israel counts votes after record turnout in closely fought election
publishers 31articles 46first reported 27 Oct, 06:24 UTCdeveloping since 27 Oct · 6 editions
Israel began counting ballots after a closely fought election marked by the country’s highest overall turnout since 1999 and unusually strong participation among Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Turnout reached 77.7%, according to figures cited by The Hindu. Earlier, the Central Elections Committee said 66.7% of eligible voters had cast ballots by 6 p.m., the highest figure recorded at that point in an election day since partial-turnout records began in 1973.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud faced its main challenge from Yashar, led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. With more than 1.2 million ballots counted early Wednesday, Central Elections Committee figures reported by Middle East Eye put Likud on 23.36% of valid votes, Yashar on 15.74% and Naftali Bennett’s party on 8.53%. The count remained preliminary, and neither leading bloc had secured a clear path to the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.
A Channel 12 exit poll cited by The National projected Likud to win 24 seats and Yashar 22. Separate exit-poll projections cited by Al Jazeera and Middle East Eye put Arab-led parties on a combined 19 seats, potentially a record. Channel 12 estimated turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel at about 80%.
The vote was Israel’s first national election since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Coalition negotiations could follow once final results are established.
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Written from 8 articles, 6 with the publisher's own text; 7 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written 30 h after the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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