Herzog accepts certified results: no bloc has a majority, Ra'am backs Eisenkot

Israeli President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results of the October 27 parliamentary election on November 4 and began consultations on forming a government. According to the certified results, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc holds 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats, Gadi Eisenkot's bloc 48, and the Arab-led parties Ra'am and the Joint List a record 19 between them. No bloc has the 61 seats needed for a majority.

The Central Elections Committee said it had examined all parties' complaints and found "no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results". Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara rejected a request to question elected officials without evidence. Netanyahu and his supporters had claimed, without evidence, that the Arab-led parties "stole" the election.

First recommendations

On the first day of consultations, Religious Zionism and Shas recommended Netanyahu, while Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu, a former Netanyahu ally, backed Eisenkot. Ra'am then said it would also recommend Eisenkot. Degel HaTorah, four of United Torah Judaism's seven lawmakers, will recommend no one, and the Joint List, with 11 seats, has yet to announce its decision.

Today Herzog meets United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit, the Democrats, Ra'am and the Joint List, and in the evening Eisenkot's Yashar! party and, last, Likud. "The elections are over. Now is the time to face reality," Herzog said, urging both camps to compromise, and condemned "the coarseness and racist expressions" directed at Arab citizens.