Netanyahu leads in Israeli election, but loses seats heres how he could remain prime minister
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies are on track to win the most seats in parliament, despite losing seats and falling short of a majority.Netanyahu’s Likud party will retain the most seats in the Knesset, with Likud and his allies looking to secure 54 seats, according to preliminary results — down from the 60 he currently holds.Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc has 48 seats, even fewer than the 50 the opposition has now.The big difference is the Arab parties, which saw a huge turnout and are looking to claim 19 seats — nearly double their current total.The true landscape of what’s to come will only be revealed in the coming days.Because forming a government could take weeks, or even months, Netanyahu will remain in office until someone can secure the majority vote in the Knesset.The prime minister will effectively be running a caretaker administration in the meanwhile, even as he tries to rally support to stay in office.There’s the added complication of his talks with President Trump to resume airstrikes in Iran after the US midterm elections on Nov.3.Netanyahu’s current cabinet would also remain in charge in the event that Israeli President Isaac Herzog is unable to convince the parties to form a government.
If that happens, the president would be forced to call yet another election.Elections in Israel are counted the old-fashioned way, with election officials checking off the ballots by hands under supervision from the Central Election Committee.
This means it could take until Thursday before the definitive results are known, with the committee still tallying hundreds of thousands of ballots by Israeli soldiers, as well as diplomats, who voted from outside the country.The final vote tally is expected by Oct.30, and official election results are typically published a week after the election, with this year’s full results set to print on Nov.
4.After the final tally is announced, Herzog will meet with party leaders to see which...