President Herzog Acknowledges Election Results, Initiates Coalition Talks

President Isaac Herzog has certified the results of last week’s parliamentary election and started consultations with party leaders to determine who will be tasked with forming the next government.

These actions on Wednesday undermined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s attempts to challenge the vote, in which he and his allies lost their majority in the 120‑member parliament, while Arab‑led parties achieved historic gains.

“The elections are over. Now is the time to face reality,” Herzog said.

In the 27 October vote, neither Netanyahu’s coalition nor the bloc led by his chief rival, opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, secured the 61 seats needed to govern. Netanyahu’s coalition obtained 53 seats, while Eisenkot’s bloc garnered 48.

This scenario leaves open the possibility of an alliance between the two leaders or an alliance between Eisenkot and the Arab‑led parties – Ra’am and the Joint List – which together captured a record 19 seats.

Herzog launched his consultations with party leaders on Wednesday evening.

Three factions aligned with Netanyahu’s religious‑nationalist base recommended that he be given the opportunity to form a coalition, while a fourth faction, led by a former Netanyahu ally turned rival, endorsed Eisenkot.

Eight additional parties, including the two Arab‑led factions, are scheduled to meet with the president on Thursday, with Eisenkot’s Yashar party and Netanyahu’s Likud meeting last.

Ra’am backs Eisenkot

Eisenkot’s prospects improved when Ra’am, a major Arab‑led party, announced it would recommend him, raising his expected support to 56 lawmakers, according to Israeli news site Ynet. This total remains short of the required majority.

The other Arab‑led party, the Joint List, has not yet declared its stance. Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the party is expected to coordinate with Eisenkot, endorsing him if asked or abstaining if he prefers. Its 11 seats could push Eisenkot over the 61‑seat threshold.

By contrast, Netanyahu’s 53‑seat bloc may not deliver the full 53 endorsements.

Degel HaTorah, which holds four of United Torah Judaism’s seven seats, stated it would recommend neither candidate. The ultra‑Orthodox faction split from Netanyahu because his coalition failed to pass legislation exempting Haredi men from military service, The Times of Israel reported.

After the consultations conclude, Herzog will select the candidate he deems most capable of forming a coalition, most likely Netanyahu or Eisenkot. He has several days to make his decision, after which the chosen nominee will have 28 days to build a government, with a possible 14‑day extension.

Should neither candidate succeed, Israel would face another election early next year.

‘No evidence of irregularities’

Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly advanced unsubstantiated claims that the Arab‑led parties “stole” the election, possibly with foreign assistance.

However, Israel’s election commission stated earlier on Wednesday that it had conducted a comprehensive investigation of all fraud allegations and found “no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its outcome”.

Attorney General Gali Baharav‑Miara also rejected a request to question elected officials in the absence of supporting evidence.

Herzog urged both camps to compromise to avert another election, emphasizing that they must accept that “not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled”.

“In the current reality, with no clear winner after the elections, I call for originality and creativity, courage and goodwill, so that the State of Israel emerges the winner,” he said.

He also supported investigating the suspected interference but cautioned against smearing Palestinian‑Israeli voters, stating he has “great respect” for Israel’s Palestinian minority, which constitutes roughly 20 % of the population.

“I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently,” he said.

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