Elections in Israel: Netanyahu's Likud wins seat, blue-white is ahead

The Likud Party of current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won a mandate. This was announced by the electoral committee about a week after the parliamentary election. This brings the Likud party to 32 seats. The blue-white party of challenger Benny Gantz received 33 seats and thus remains the strongest force.

The background to the subsequent increase in the mandate was a presumed electoral fraud in six polling stations, whose results would be disqualified, the electoral committee. The austerely religious party United Torah Judaism slipped from eight to seven mandates. Thus, neither the center-left camp nor the right-wing religious bloc have the necessary majority of 61 mandates.

In Israel, given the tight start of the election about a week ago, there is political uncertainty. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Blue-White boss Gantz have both voted for a grand coalition. However, there is still disagreement over who should lead them.

Rivlin has to decide whom he is charged with forming a government

On Wednesday, President Reuven Rivlin will receive the official final result of the election. In the evening, Gantz and Netanyahu want to meet again with the president. After that, Rivlin has to decide who of the two he is charged with forming a government.

The formation of a government becomes complicated. Netanyahu had formed a bloc right after the election with the right and religious parties and insists on including them in a government alliance. However, Gantz had announced prior to the election that he wanted a secular grand coalition.

Gantz had rejected even before the election, a government with Netanyahu as Prime Minister. He cited the allegations of corruption against Netanyahu, which will be the subject of a hearing on 2 October. After that Netanyahu threatens an indictment in three cases.

According to media reports, Blau-Weiss accuses Netanyahu of actually seeking a third choice. After the election in April, Netanyahu had failed to form a government.