Support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party fell significantly in traditional holdings in Tuesday’s national elections, in which the prime minister and his right-wing religious allies fell short of the majority for the fourth time in two years.
According to the final results released on Thursday, Likud received 1,066,595 votes in the March 23 elections, making it the largest Knesset party with 30 seats.
The number marked a sharp decline from the previous round of elections in March 2020, when Likud won 1,352,449 votes, a record for an Israeli political party. These votes translated into 36 seats in the Knesset, the best result ever for Likud under the leadership of Netanyahu.
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In Ashkelon, where Likud won 34,677 votes in March, or 48.1% of all ballots in the southern coastal city, participation in the party dropped to 27,103 this time, or 40.02% of the total.
Sderot, the rocket-hit city near the Gaza Strip, also saw a drop in support for the party, with the vote count dropping from 6,861 last year (51.15%) to 5,228 on Tuesday (41.16% ).
A similar phenomenon was seen in the town of Migdal HaEmek, where this week Likud won 4,873 votes (37.98%). Last year, it obtained 6,093 votes (45.33%).
These cases were representative of the party’s display in many other small towns.
Supporters of the Likud in Jerusalem, March 21, 2021. (Shir Torem / Flash90)
Likud also shed support in major cities, with the vote count in Jerusalem falling from 72,601 to 51,237, in Tel Aviv from 58,363 to 44,573, in Haifa from 38,464 to 29,269 and in Beersheba from 49,801 to 38,604.
A report on Thursday said Likud members were “shocked” by the election results, with initial accusations about who was responsible for the drop in support.
According to Kan’s news, some Likud lawmakers blamed MK Shlomo Karhi, the vice chairman of the party’s electoral committee who was responsible for representatives at polling stations.
Likud MK Shlomo Karhi at a meeting of the Knesset committee on January 13, 2020. (Hadas Parush / Flash90)
“You didn’t deliver,” said Netanyahu to Karhi.
The report said that Likud officials believe that the former supporters simply stayed at home during this round – although it is also possible that they have migrated to other parties.
Karhi told Kan that he has “full support” for Netanyahu and accused those who criticized him of being “jealous” and “dreaming dreams that never happened”.
With all the ballots counted on Thursday, Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious supporters had 52 seats, while the parties opposed to the premier had 57 among them. The right-wing Yamina party (with 7) and the Islamic Ra’am (with 4) did not commit to either side.
Netanyahu would need both parties to obtain a small majority, but cooperation between the extreme right and Ra’am’s Islamists seemed almost impossible.
Meanwhile, a potential “coalition for change” from Yesh Atid, Blue and White, Yamina, Yisrael Beytenu, Labor, New Hope and Meretz would have 58 votes, also three less than the majority.
With the prime minister and his political opponents once again without a clear path to forming a coalition government, the political stalemate looked set to continue, setting up a potential fifth election.
The results of the formal elections will be presented to President Reuven Rivlin next Wednesday. The Central Elections Committee said there was a possibility of change so far – but this was seen as unlikely.
