Pro-Netanyahu bloc leading Israel election with 53 seats as 90% of votes counted

JERUSALEM: As vote counting progresses in Israel’s high-stakes political contest, partial returns published by the Central Elections Committee and detailed by The Times of Israel indicate that the electoral arithmetic remains finely balanced as the night unfolds.

According to partial figures published by the Central Elections Committee as of 11:35 pm (local time), the pro-Netanyahu bloc holds 53 seats, while the opposing bloc stands at 48 seats, based on 90 per cent of votes counted across 97.5 per cent of ballot boxes.

The updated tallies also shed light on several political factions currently tracking beneath the 3.25 per cent electoral threshold. Parties hovering below the cutoff include the Reservists at 2.6 per cent, the People of Israel at 1.6 per cent, and the Charedi Public faction at 0.2 per cent.

Electoral authorities have emphasised that these returns are strictly partial and will continue to evolve as the count advances. According to The Times of Israel, votes cast in double envelopes, which notably include the ballots of active-duty soldiers, are traditionally processed in the later stages of tabulation, leaving the final parliamentary breakdown subject to change.

Reflecting on these unfolding numbers, Yashar chairman Gadi Eisenkot, the leading opposition candidate, stated that the election results constitute a clear vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration, pledging to press ahead with efforts to oust the government even though his political bloc remains well short of a parliamentary majority.