The Central Elections Committee has released official results after 95% of the ballots have been counted. Blue and White is slightly ahead of Likud, while the left-wing bloc is edging the right-wing bloc.
Blue and White – 33
Likud – 32
Arab Joint List – 12
Shas – 9
Yisrael Beytenu – 8
Yahadut Hatorah – 8
Yamina – 7
Labor-Gesher – 6
Democratic Camp – 5
Left-wing bloc (with Arabs): 56
Right-wing bloc: 56
Yisrael Beytenu: 8
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Blue and White: 32
Likud: 31
Joint List: 13
Shas: 9
United Torah Judaism: 8
Yamina: 7
Labor: 6
Democratic Camp: 5
Left-wing bloc: 56
Right-wing bloc: 55
Yisrael Beytenu: 9
Once again, this is not final, and in addition, beginning on Wednesday evening, the Central Election Committee must begin counting over 250,000 votes, including the votes of IDF soldiers, prisoners and disabled persons, the so-called ‘double envelopes’.
According to the director-general of the Central Elections Committee, Orly Addis, these votes will count for seven additional seats. She emphasized “the final determination will only be made next week”.
The IDF Spokesman’s Office reported on Wednesday morning that the voter turnout in the IDF was 70.7%. Because of operational need, the voting in the military took place on motzei Shabbos, 14 September. In addition, about 10% of those serving in the IDF today voted in civilian polling stations.
7:45AM IL: At present, Likud and Blue & White are tied with 32 seats each, leaving the situation without either of the parties being able to form a coalition government by reaching the minimum number of seats required, 61.
The easier scenario is that Likud (32) gets together with Yahadut Hatorah (8) and Shas (9), as well as with Yemina (7), for a total of 56 seats. His options now are to persuade Avigdor Lieberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party (9) to join his coalition for a total of 65 seats. Another option is to persuade Amir Peretz and the Labor/Gesher (6) seats to enter the coalition, for a total of 62.
If the presidential mandate is given to Benny Gantz and his Blue & White party (32), he will first move to include Labor/Gesher (6) and the Democratic Camp (5) for a total of 43. His next option is the Joint Arab List (12) for a total of 55, but in essence, even if the Arabs agree to join a coalition government, the two-seat Balad party is not going to sit with three former IDF chiefs of staff, leaving Gantz with 53.
Hence, Gantz must bring Lieberman on board so his chances of building a coalition are not too good the way things appear.
Further complicating matters is the fact that Lieberman has already called on President Reuven Rivlin to call both Netanyahu and Gantz for informal talks, even before the official announcement of the election outcome, towards forming a national unity coalition government including both large parties, which is what he explains is the situation he supports. He has not stated if he will join either larger party without the other.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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15 Responses
Another option might be for Bibi to try and persuade some people lower on b&W’s list to jump ship and join him. He tried it last minute last time; maybe now it’ll work.
So basically this story is telling us that MILLIONS of shekels were spent and mountains of loshon hara were spoken for…NOTHING!!!
And his only concerns are to oppose Charedim. It’s Purim boys and girls and Haman has the king’s ear.
We most likely headed for a Netanyahu/Gantz coalition government. The only question is whether the third element in the coalition will be Lieberman or the charedi parties. My money, for many reasons, is on the charedi parties
The goyim have a saying that one definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect to get different results. Likud doesn’t have an option to dump the Hareidim for Lieberman since the Hareidim got more seats, and Blue & White needs the Hareidim to get a majority.
A Likud/Blue & White government can avoid having to include the hareidim, Lieberman or the various self-proclaimed far-right parties. The compromise that makes the deal may for agreeing on a Likudnik other than Bibi as prime minister.
Ani l’Bibi v’Bibi Lee
I recall that Livni won one more seat than Bibi, but only Bibi was able to cobble together a coalition then.
Yagel,
I highly doubt it
The truth is: let’s all face it…. HASHEM runs The world and all these groups and politicians are just Hashems actor messengers to do what Hashem has already decreed will happen in the future
1)which countries will have peace or vice versa C”V with Israel
2)when mashiach will come
And everything in between HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED WAAAAAAY BEFORE ELECTIONS TOOK PLACE TODAY.
Stop letting your corrupt human mind fool you into thinking that reina rules Jackson or Trump runs America they are all just Hashems messengers.
May we all do teshuva together as a nation ASAP so we can all meet the king of kings with the coming of mashiach very soon
Litzman should absolutely join a coalition with Lapid. Is it better to have a voice as a member of opposition or part of ruling majority? We need more pragmatic leadership.
Netanyahu/Gantz could form a government with no one else (no Hareidim, no Lieberman, no far right or far left, no Arabs). They could split the patronage among themselves, and in most matters the two are closer to each than to another party. However Natanyahu has become very polarizing, but Likud might be willing to
throw him under the bus” and the fiasco of calling a second election and not winning it.
Yagel: You may be right but unfortunately the polarization between the various blocks has only increased. The Arab parties/MK are just as toxic to the right-wingers as the Chareidi parties/MK are to Lieberman and the other secular blocks. In some respects, the Likudniks (w/o Bibi) are probably sufficiently flexible to join with Blue White to form a “national unity” coalition w/o Shaas/UT.
Sam: About 98% of your posts on ANY subject suggest that anything that we do here on Earth in olam hazeh is all irrelevant since the Ebeshter has pre-determined the outcome. Yes, we all share some notion of hashgacha paratis but I think you take it to extremes. If the Ebeshter wanted to assure that the Shaas and UT rabbonim would continue their political coercion of the government, he wouldn’t have created a Lieberman or a morally challenged politician like Netanyahu.
There will be a quick case and Bibi will be PM. And he’ll step with grace.
Sephardim beat Ashkenazim 9-8! Sephardim win!
Correction.
The left and right bloc are equal at 56.
– Not the left is edging out the right.