Exit polls following Israel’s election indicate no clear winner in a hard-fought contest that many pundits and voters have billed as the most pivotal in the country’s history.
According to the exit polls, the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is projected to win 50 seats, while the bloc led by opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot is expected to take 52 or 53. Sixty-one seats are needed to form a majority government, and Arab parties are projected to win 18 seats.
Voter turnout and timetable for official results
Polling stations closed at 10pm local time (20:00 GMT). Preliminary results are expected on Wednesday, with a final tally due on Friday and official results set for November 4, eight days after the vote.
Also read: Ultra-Orthodox draft fight dominates Israel's election campaign
Turnout reached 74.3 percent as of 8pm local time (18:00 GMT), according to data released by the Central Elections Committee, compared with 70.63 percent in the 2022 election. The committee rejected a request from Netanyahu’s Likud Party to extend voting hours.
A tight race seen as a referendum on Netanyahu
Polls had predicted a close contest between incumbent Netanyahu and Eisenkot, the leader of the Yashar party and a former army chief. Exit polls are based on interviews with voters immediately after they cast their ballots, and such interviews have in previous elections tended to anticipate results closely.
The vote is the first since Israel launched its war on Gaza three years ago, following Hamas-led attacks on the country. It is widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu‘s handling of the events of October 7, 2023, and the conflicts that followed.
