Key takeaways
- President Herzog received the certified results of Israel's 27 October election on 4 November, opening consultations on the first mandate.
- The count gives Netanyahu's bloc 53 seats, Eisenkot's bloc 48 and Arab-led parties 19; 61 are needed for a majority.
- Herzog is hearing smaller factions first, with Likud and Yashar expected late on 5 November, and may hold more rounds.
President Isaac Herzog received the certified results of Israel's 27 October election at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Wednesday, 4 November 2026. Justice Noam Sohlberg chairs the Central Elections Committee (CEC). He presented the results at noon, according to JNS. The handover opens the president's consultations on who gets the first mandate to form a government.
By the CEC's count, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc won 53 of the 120 Knesset seats. The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot won 48. Arab-led parties took a record 19. A majority needs 61. No candidate had been given the mandate by the evening.
Sohlberg told the ceremony that casting doubt on the results poses "a real danger" to Israeli democracy, Al Jazeera and the Times of Israel reported. Herzog said: "The election is over, and now it is time to face reality." He noted that 4 November is the anniversary of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's murder 31 years ago. The first party delegations were due at 5 p.m.
What certification settled
The CEC presidium voted earlier that day. It has five members: Sohlberg and representatives of the four largest factions. Yesh Atid and Blue and White voted in favour, and Likud and Shas abstained. Sohlberg cast the deciding vote, according to Al Jazeera and the Times of Israel. Otzma Yehudit, the party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said it would vote against. Ben-Gvir wrote: "The elections were stolen, the results are fraudulent." The CEC said its review of 9,069 polling stations found "no irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or changed its results."
Netanyahu and his allies have claimed without evidence, AP and Al Jazeera reported, that Arab-led parties "stole" the vote. Herzog said he condemned "the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently." He added that Arab Israeli voters "must not be smeared," AP reported. After the vote, the Shin Bet security service told the CEC that intelligence pointed to foreign funding and influence operations. It named no countries or people, and AP reported it gave no evidence. That investigation continues.
Herzog is hearing factions in ascending order of size, a departure from custom. His office said this is meant to allow "a broader examination of coalition options and encourage fresh thinking," JNS reported. Religious Zionism, led by Smotrich, is first. Likud is scheduled last on Thursday evening, 5 November, with Yashar, Eisenkot's party, shortly before it, according to the schedule reported by Ynet. Religious Zionism and Shas said on 3 November they would recommend Netanyahu. Five opposition leaders met in Herzliya that day and said in a joint statement that all their parties would recommend Eisenkot to Herzog, Al Jazeera reported, as Crisis.Zone reported.
Observers are reading: how the 67-seat arithmetic, Herzog's discretion and each bloc's red lines pull against one another before Thursday's meetings.
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What to watch
Herzog said he intends to hold "open, probing, and sharp discussions" and, if necessary, additional rounds. The designated candidate then has 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension of up to 14, France 24 and AFP reported. If that fails, the president can name another candidate. If that attempt also fails, at least 61 Knesset members can ask the president to assign the task to a candidate, the Israel Democracy Institute says. If that fails too, Israel holds a new election, early next year according to AP and Al Jazeera. Herzog has seven days from the formal announcement of the results to assign the task, which sets a deadline of 11 November, according to Daily Pioneer and Ynet, though he can act sooner. The new Knesset is expected to be sworn in on 10 November regardless of any government or coalition talks, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Netanyahu took 58 days to form a government after the November 2022 election, AFP noted. The blocs stayed locked, as Crisis.Zone's 18 October analysis argued they would. Netanyahu denies all charges in his corruption trial. Thursday's evening meetings come next, then any second round, and whether either bloc moves off its own red lines.
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