TEL AVIV – Another election, another possible stalemate.
Early results suggest that Israel’s fourth election in two years will lead to yet another indecisive result, not giving Benjamin Netanyahu or his opponents a clear way to form a government.
With 88 percent of the votes counted on Wednesday morning, Netanyahu’s Likud party won about 30 seats in the Israeli parliament and emerged as the largest single party.
But even with the support of smaller nationalist and religious parties, Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc appeared to be close to the 61 seats needed to form a majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament.
Netanyahu’s opponents – a coalition of left, right and center parties determined to end their 15 years in power – also seemed unable to gather the numbers for the majority.
Israel’s electoral commission said the final results are not expected until Friday because of delays due to Covid-19 restrictions and the numbers may change as more ballots are counted. However, tired Israeli voters were already beginning to discuss the prospect of a fifth election.
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“This proves once again that Israelis are split in half when it comes to the main question that defines Israeli politics today: are you for or against the continuation of Benjamin Netanyahu’s post as prime minister?” said Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute think tank.
The first polls looked promising for Netanyahu and he claimed victory shortly after the polls closed on Tuesday. “Citizens of Israel – thank you!” said in a tweet. “You have conceded a great victory to the right and to Likud under my leadership.”
But as the hours went by and the royal ballots were counted, the leadership of the right-wing bloc seemed to be diminishing.
The results were mixed up even more, as it appeared that a small Islamic party known as Ra’am had defied expectations and won enough votes to qualify for four to five seats in the Israeli parliament.
Ra’am, led by Dr. Mansour Abbas, a former dentist, draws his support from religiously conservative elements from the Arab minority of 2 million Israelis.
Unlike the leaders of other Arab parties, Abbas suggested that he is open to supporting the pro-Netanyahu or anti-Netanyahu bloc, as long as it can bring benefits to his community.
He said nothing in an interview with the news site Ynet on Wednesday. “Whoever wants to contact us, we will be happy to talk to him and raise our positions and demands,” he said.
Ra’am’s apparent electoral gains raise the unusual possibility that Netanyahu will seek Islamic support to support a right-wing nationalist government.
As soon as the vote totals are finalized, party leaders will meet with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and make a recommendation on who should be the next prime minister.
The president, whose role is largely ceremonial, will instruct Netanyahu or another party leader to try to form a majority government. This leader has six weeks to negotiate with other parties to form a coalition.
If they fail, another leader may have a chance to try to form a government. And if no one succeeds in commanding a majority in parliament, the country will move on to yet another election.
Netanyahu put the successful launch of the Covid-19 vaccine in Israel at the center of his campaign. More than half of Israelis received at least one dose – one of the highest rates anywhere in the world.
His campaign slogan, “Back to life,” was designed to reflect how vaccines have allowed Israel to return to a normal life. With polls closed on Tuesday, Israelis gathered in recently reopened bars and cafes to watch the results.
Separately, Netanyahu is currently on trial for corruption. Prosecutors accuse him of fraud, bribery and breach of trust in a series of cases related to allegations that he abused his position as prime minister. Netanyahu denies the charges.
The election ended with a disappointing result for New Hope, a party made up of former members of Netanyahu’s Likud who split up to challenge their leader. The party, led by former minister Gideon Saar, started the vote with 20 seats, but early results suggest it won just six.