No clear winner has emerged from Israel’s election, raising speculation over which party could form the next government. Early on Friday, the Central Elections Committee (CEC) published the final results of the October 27 vote, which had a high voter turnout of 77.9 percent. Neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition grouping led by Gadi Eisenkot has secured the majority necessary to form a government.
Both leaders have also ruled out working with the two main electoral lists representing Palestinian citizens of Israel – the United Arab List (Ra’am) and the Joint List. So how can Israel break its political deadlock? On Thursday, at least 500,000 “double envelope” votes which came in from soldiers and diplomats were counted.
These voters use two envelopes: the first contains their ballot without any identifying information, while the second bears their personal details. The anonymous envelope is placed inside the second envelope, allowing officials to check that voters have not cast ballots elsewhere, without compromising the secrecy of their choice. Netanyahu’s bloc secured 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats.
The United Arab List, or Ra’am, and the Joint List secured a combined 19 seats. To form a government, a political party must hold at least 61 seats. No single party has ever won that majority and alliances have led to governing coalitions, with a prime minister at the helm.
Political consultations to form a coalition are reported to be under way. If the process fails, Israeli President Isaac Herzog could choose which candidate has the best chance to form a government. That candidate is then given about 28 days to do so – a period that could be extended.
If the candidate fails, the president can then choose another. If that candidate is unable to form a government, then a 21-day window opens in which 61 members of the Knesset can submit a request to Herzog to assign the task to a Knesset member. Yes, because if all the processes listed above fail, Israelis will have to return to the polls.
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