As of 10:50 AM IST, Wednesday 28 October 2026. The count is partial. The latest official figures available to HorizonDesk cover 41.9% of ballot boxes (as of 5:58 AM Israel time, 9:28 AM IST). Soldiers' and other double-envelope votes are counted later, and seat numbers will change.
Israel's election has produced no clear winner so far. With about 42% of ballot boxes counted, partial results put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc ahead of the opposition, but short of the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority. Exit polls on Tuesday night had shown the two camps roughly level.
What the partial count shows
According to the Times of Israel, partial results published by the Central Elections Committee with 41.9% of ballot boxes counted gave:
- Pro-Netanyahu bloc: 57 seats
- Anti-Netanyahu bloc: 47 seats
- Joint List and Ra'am (predominantly Arab parties): 16 seats
Ynet's tally at a similar stage, reported by Calcalist, put Likud on 28 seats, Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar! on 21, the Joint List on 12, Together (B'Yachad) on 11, United Torah Judaism and Yisrael Beiteinu on 8 each, the Democrats, Otzma Yehudit, Shas and Religious Zionism on 7 each, and Ra'am on 4. Independent trackers that calculate seats from the same vote file differ by about a seat for some lists, for example giving Yashar! 20 and Ra'am 5.
Lists below the 3.25% threshold at that point included the Reservists (2.7%) and People of Israel (1.8%), the Times of Israel said.
The count has swung during the night
Early figures were very different. With 25.2% of ballot boxes counted at 4:05 AM Israel time, the pro-Netanyahu bloc had 63 seats, the opposition 49, and the Joint List 8, with Ra'am then just below the threshold, according to an earlier Times of Israel update. As more votes came in, the Netanyahu bloc fell to 57 and the Arab-led lists rose to 16.
The exit polls broadcast after polls closed told a third story. Kan 11 and Channel 13 each gave Netanyahu's bloc and the anti-Netanyahu bloc 51 seats, and Channel 12 gave 52 to 49, with the Arab-led parties on 18 to 19, according to a compilation by Israel Votes 2026. Bloomberg described Netanyahu and Eisenkot as "neck and neck", in a markets wrap.
Turnout was about 77.7%, the highest in roughly 25 years, Calcalist reported.
What the leaders are saying
Netanyahu has said he wants to form a right-wing government, Calcalist reported, while Eisenkot said the public had decided in favour of change. The Times of Israel reported that Eisenkot pledged to do his utmost to form a "Zionist government" with national service for all, and called on Netanyahu to step down. Several party leaders on both sides urged supporters to wait for the real results.
Why no one can claim victory yet
- Double envelopes: votes from soldiers, diplomats, hospitals and prisons are counted after regular ballots and can shift a seat or more.
- The threshold: any list that rises above or falls below 3.25% changes the whole seat allocation.
- Coalition maths: even if the opposition parties together outnumber Netanyahu's bloc, forming a government without him would likely require support from Arab-led parties, which would be politically difficult for some opposition factions.
Final official results are expected only after all double-envelope ballots are counted, which Israeli media say may take until later this week. President Isaac Herzog then consults party leaders before tasking a candidate with forming a government.
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