Israel’s Central Elections Committee certified the final tally of last week’s national election on Wednesday, finding no evidence of fraud and dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to contest the outcome.
The formal certification leaves parliament split, with no bloc commanding an outright majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition captured 53 seats in the Oct. 27 ballot, while an opposition alliance guided by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats. Two Arab-led slates, Ra’am and the Joint List, obtained a historic combined total of 19 seats, NBC News and Al Jazeera reported.
Election panel finds no systematic violations
Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, who chairs the election commission, cast the deciding presidium vote to certify the count after delegates from Yesh Atid and Blue and White supported ratification while Likud and Shas abstained. Dean Livne, the panel’s acting director, confirmed that an exhaustive assessment of 9,069 voting precincts produced no violations capable of altering the results or undermining the election’s integrity.
Netanyahu and his allies have repeatedly alleged without proof that Arab-led parties stole the election through illicit foreign financing and ballot tampering. Speaking during the official certification ceremony at the presidential residence, Sohlberg said those casting unsubstantiated doubt on the outcome represented ‘a real danger’ to Israel’s democracy, Al Jazeera reported. Sohlberg stressed that the lawful results remain binding on all factions, noting that even if separate intelligence inquiries substantiate suspicions of foreign influence, they would not invalidate the final tally.
Herzog opens marathon coalition talks
Israeli President Isaac Herzog officially accepted the certified returns on Wednesday and immediately started two days of consultations with party leaders to decide who will be tasked with assembling the next governing cabinet. Under Israeli law, the chosen lawmaker receives 28 days to forge a coalition, with the possibility of a 14-day extension.
Breaking with customary protocol, Herzog opened meetings with smaller factions first, beginning with Religious Zionism-Zehut and Shas, which each hold six seats, followed by Yisrael Beiteinu with seven seats, Fox News reported. Discussions are slated to continue Thursday with United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit, The Democrats, Ra’am, the Joint List, BeYachad, Yashar and Likud.
Netanyahu declared on social media that the Israeli electorate rejects any administration reliant on Arab-led parties, which he accused of rejecting Israel’s character as a Jewish state. Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir went further, urging security officials to detain Arab party leaders and freeze certification altogether, Al Jazeera reported.
‘In the current reality, in which there is no clear winner after the elections, I ask for originality and creativity, courage and goodwill, so that the State of Israel emerges the winner,’ Herzog said.
Rivals seek path forward amid deadlock
Eisenkot condemned the fraud accusations as a malicious attempt to undermine the newly elected parliament. A source within the Joint List told Fox News Digital that the faction is likely to endorse Eisenkot during presidential consultations. If both Ra’am and the Joint List back him, Eisenkot would surpass the 61 recommendations needed to receive the initial mandate from Herzog.
However, assembling a functional governing coalition remains difficult. Right-leaning opposition leaders such as BeYachad head Naftali Bennett and Yisrael Beiteinu chief Avigdor Liberman have shown reluctance to sit in a cabinet alongside the Joint List because of ideological divides. Analysts told Fox News that rivals could explore an external support agreement, attempt a national unity rotation government, or face another round of elections early next year if talks collapse.
The 26th Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on Nov. 10, when newly elected members will begin parliamentary committee work as negotiations continue.
