JERUSALEM (AP) – Exit polls suggest there is no clear winner in the Israeli election, leaving the fate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uncertain and the continuing political stalemate.
Polls on Israel’s three main television stations showed that Netanyahu and his religious and nationalist allies, as well as divergent opponents, did not have a parliamentary majority. It could provide the basis for weeks of paralysis and even an unprecedented fifth consecutive election. Exit polls are often inaccurate and official results may not be known for days.
The exit polls conducted by Channel 11, 12 and 13 were almost identical, showing that Netanyahu and his allies won 120-54 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, with 120 seats. His opponents would win 59 and Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party would win 7-8.
If the final results are in line with the exit polls, both parties will have to hold court with Bennett, a former Netanyahu ally with strained relations with the prime minister, to form a majority of at least 61 seats.
Bennett shares Netanyahu’s stubborn nationalist ideology, but has indicated he will be willing to work with his rivals if given the chance to become prime minister.
The election is widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s divisive rule, and once again polls have predicted an extremely tough race.
The three-month campaign was largely without content issues and focused strongly on Netanyahu’s personality and whether he should remain in office. Unlike the previous election where he faced a clear rival, a variety of parties tried to overthrow him this time because they had little in common beyond their shared hostility towards him.
“Vote, vote, vote, vote, vote,” Netanyahu said after bringing his wife, Sarah, to Jerusalem by his side.
Netanyahu, 71, who remains a tireless fighter even after 12 years in office, continued all day. At one point he marches along a Mediterranean beach and begs people over a megaphone to go vote.
“This is the moment of truth for the state of Israel,” one of his challengers, opposition leader Yair Lapid, said as he voted in Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu highlighted Israel’s extremely successful coronavirus vaccination campaign. He pulled aggressively to secure enough vaccines for the 9.3 million people of Israel, and within three months, the country had vaccinated about 80% of its adult population. This enabled the government to open restaurants, shops and the airport just in time for election day.
He also tried to portray himself as a global statesman and pointed to the four diplomatic agreements he reached with Arab countries last year. The agreements were mediated by his close ally, then-President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu’s opponents, including a trio of former assistants who share his nationalist ideology but object to what they say is his autocratic leadership style, see things very differently.
They say Netanyahu has messed up many aspects of the pandemic, especially by allowing his ultra-Orthodox allies to ignore lock-in rules and incite a high infection rate for most of the year. More than 6,000 Israelis have died from COVID-19, and the economy remains weak with double-digit unemployment.
They also point to the Netanyahu corruption trial and say that anyone charged with serious crimes is not fit to lead the country. Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and the acceptance of bribes in a series of scandals he dismisses as a witch-hunt by a hostile media and legal system.
Even Netanyahu’s reputation as a statesman has suffered a bit over the past few days. The United Arab Emirates, the most important of the four Arab countries that have entered into official diplomatic ties with Israel, made it clear last week that they do not want to use it as part of Netanyahu’s re-election offer after he was forced to cancel a visit. to the country. The Biden government has also kept its distance, a contrast to the support it received from Trump in the recent election.
In remembrance of the many security challenges in the country, Palestinian militants fired a rocket at Israel in the Gaza Strip late Tuesday, attacking sirens in southern Israel. The Israeli army said the rocket landed in an open space.
Opinion polls predict a tough race, with the possibility that Netanyahu and his opponents will not get a parliamentary majority again. It could plunge the country into an unprecedented fifth consecutive election later this year.
Tuesday’s election was fueled by the disintegration of an emergency government formed between Netanyahu and his then-main rival in May. The alliance was plagued by infighting, and elections were forced after they did not agree on a budget in December.
“It would be better if we did not have to vote twice in two years,” said Jerusalem voter Bruce Rosen. “It’s a little tiring.”
By 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), 51.5% of voters voted, a drop of nearly 5 percentage points from the previous election a year ago, the Israeli Electoral Commission announced.
Netanyahu’s opponents accused him of fueling a stalemate in hopes of bringing about a friendlier parliament that would grant him immunity from prosecution.
Netanyahu hopes to form a government with his traditional religious and hard-line nationalist allies. It includes some ultra-Orthodox parties and a small religious party that openly includes racist and homophobic candidates.
This time, much will depend on the performance of a handful of small parties struggling to win a minimum of 3.25% of the vote to enter the 120-seat Knesset or parliament.
While Netanyahu’s Likud was expected to appear as the largest single party, no party ever won a majority of 61 seats on its own. Both he and his opponents must win the support of smaller allied parties to form a majority coalition.
Recent polls suggest that several parties are close to the threshold. The failure of one of them to enter parliament will have a significant impact on the balance between Netanyahu and his opponents.
Another complicating factor was the absence of the vote. Up to 15% of voters are expected to vote outside their home districts, a larger number than usual due to special accommodation for those with COVID-19 or in quarantine. The government has set up special polling stations and even brought ballot boxes to hospital beds to allow people to vote safely.
The votes are counted separately in Jerusalem, which means that final results may not be known for days. Given the tough race, it can be difficult to predict the outcome before the final score is completed.
Once the results come in, attention will be drawn to the country’s figure president, Reuven Rivlin.
He will hold a series of meetings with party leaders and then choose the one he believes has the best chance of forming a government as his designated prime minister. The task is usually, but not always, given to the head of the largest party. It will take weeks of horse-trading as the designated prime minister tries to merge a government with promises of generous budgets and powerful ministries to his prospective partners.
Rivlin voted in Jerusalem on Tuesday, saying the deadlock had a price.
“Four elections in two years undermine public confidence in the democratic process,” he said, even as he urged Israelis to vote again. ‘There is no other way.’