Kumar Bahukhandi
A voter casts a ballot at a school serving as a polling station during Israel’s general election in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. (Photo: David Goldman/AP)
Likud wins 27 seats, but Netanyahu’s bloc falls eight short of a majority; results await routine verification before submission to the President
Key Highlights
• Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud emerged as the largest party with 27 seats, followed by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar with 21.
• The pro-Netanyahu bloc secured 53 seats, short of the 61 required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset.
• Eisenkot’s bloc won 48 seats, while the two Arab-led parties secured 19.
• The results are scheduled to be submitted to President Isaac Herzog on November 4, with the new Knesset’s swearing-in set for November 10.
Jerusalem: Israel’s Central Elections Committee has released the completed vote count for the country’s parliamentary election, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc without a majority despite Likud finishing as the largest party. The incoming 26th Knesset is scheduled to be sworn in on November 10, while routine checks and possible minor corrections will precede submission of the official results to President Isaac Herzog on November 4.
Likud secured 27 seats, followed by Yashar, led by Gadi Eisenkot, with 21. The outcome leaves neither of the principal rival blocs with enough seats to command a parliamentary majority.
The parties supporting Netanyahu collectively won 53 seats, eight short of the 61-seat threshold. Eisenkot’s bloc secured 48 seats, leaving coalition negotiations central to determining the next government.
The Arab-led Joint List won 11 seats, while Ra’am secured eight, giving the two parties a combined strength of 19 seats. Their numbers make them potentially significant in coalition discussions, although forming a governing arrangement will depend on agreements between parties.
The remaining seat allocation includes 12 for B’Yachad, eight for the Democrats, and seven each for Yisrael Beytenu, United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit. Shas and Religious Zionism won six seats each.
The committee reported a final voter turnout of 77.9%, with 5,716,665 ballots counted. Of these, 5,690,778 were valid and 25,887 were invalid.
Although counting has concluded, the committee said the figures remained subject to its standard verification process. This includes examining polling-station records, correcting data-entry errors and reviewing complaints submitted by the public and competing lists.
The scheduled inauguration of the new Knesset on November 10 will mark the beginning of the incoming legislature’s term. It does not, by itself, resolve the separate question of which parties can assemble a governing majority.
