Polls open in Israeli election seen as referendum on Netanyahu

Newswire and Rupavahini News report that final results gave Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset. Newswire says Likud, Netanyahu’s party, was the largest individual faction with 27 seats. The opposition grouping led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48, according to both outlets. Newswire says the Central Elections Committee issued the final tally on Friday, October 30.

Newswire and Rupavahini News report that Raam and the Joint List together won 19 seats. Newswire says no bloc reached the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority, positioning the two Arab party groupings to influence government formation. Rupavahini News also reports that their seats could prove decisive in forming the next government.

Newswire reports that the outcome points to challenging coalition discussions, potentially lasting weeks, and that another election could follow if negotiations fail. The reports provide no specific timetable for talks.

Newswire reports that Netanyahu’s camp promoted claims that Arab-Israeli groups had obtained overseas funds to affect the election, including an allegation that Qatar financed vote-buying linked to Raam. Newswire says Raam’s leader, Mansour Abbas, denied wrongdoing and welcomed an inquiry; the Joint List and Qatar also rejected the accusations. Rupavahini News reports that Eisenkot and Arab party leaders accused Netanyahu of being ready to dispute the legitimacy of the results, while Netanyahu’s party alleged that Arab parties had taken the victory from them.

Newswire reports that Israel’s Shin Bet was examining suspected voting irregularities and said its inquiry was not intended to blame an entire community of voters. Newswire also reports that the Central Elections Committee’s acting director general dismissed suggestions of widespread problems. Earlier reports differed on the count’s status: Daily Mirror, Newsfirst (සිංහල) and Ada Derana described partial or currently available results, whereas Newswire and Rupavahini News reported final figures.

Written automatically by AI from the outlets’ own reports, and not reviewed by an editor. It can be wrong — the original report is the authority.