Israel elections: PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims victory of his life
Exit polls gives a majority to Likud Party
● NETANYAHU HAD support of 60 members in the 120-member house after the April 9 polls, the first out of the three within a year, but he could not manage to win just one more member to form a government
Jerusalem, March 3: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday began talks with lawmakers to form a coalition government led by him after the exit polls projected majority for his Likud Party in the country’s unprecedented third parliamentary elections.
According to the exit polls published shortly after the voting ended on Monday, 70-year-old Netanyahu’s right-wing party will win 59 seats, just two short of the majority in the 120-member Parliament. Netanyahu had support of 60 members in the 120-member house after the April 9 polls, the first out of the three within a year, but he could not manage to win just one more member to form a government.
Israelis voted on Monday for the third time in less than a year to break the deadlock on government formation, with the country’s longest serving premier Netanyahu fighting for his political survival amid indictments on graft charges. Likud spokesman Jonathan Urich said that work has begun to convince lawmakers from the center-left bloc to defect and join a Likud-led coalition headed by Netanyahu, Ha’aretz online reported.
“This is a night of great victory,” Netanyahu said in a victory speech at his party headquarters hours after exit polls were declared. “We won against all odds. They eulogized us, but we prevailed. We made lemons into lemonade. We turned Israel into a superpower, we nurtured new connections with world leaders, including more leaders than you can even imagine in the Arab and Muslim world,” he said.
“When I say that we will bring peace agreements with more Arab nations, it’s not mere words. There are things in the works. This is only the tip of the iceberg,” he said, highlighting his claim to lead Israel as the only leader of global stature.
Meanwhile, the Central Election Committee said that it has completed counting almost 97 per cent of the votes polled and the only votes remaining to be counted are the absentee ballots. The absentee ballots include those of the soldiers, prisoners, diplomats posted abroad and other emissaries which will be counted later Tuesday. Votes of those quarantined due to possible exposure to Covid-19, cast at special polling stations, will be counted in a tent outside the Knesset on Wednesday morning.
Counting of these votes is generally a tedious process as they go through cross-checks and their results will be available only on Sunday. As per law, the final results of the polls can be announced until Monday next week. The Likud Party has solidified its position as the single largest party with a decent lead of 36-32 over closest rival Blue and White party of former Israeli army Chief Benny Gantz. Likud has bagged 29.35 per cent of the votes, equal to around 36 Knesset (Israeli Parliament) seats, which could represent the party's strongest showing as Israelis look to end a political deadlock that has left the country without a fully functioning government for over a year.