Exit polls show Bibi may not win clear majority
JERUSALEM: Uncertainty hovered over the outcome of Israel’s parliamentary election on Wednesday, with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sworn political rivals determined to depose him apparently lacking a clear path to a governing coalition.
Deadlock in the 120-seat parliament was a real possibility a day after the election, which had been dominated by Netanyahu’s polarising leadership.
With about 90% of the vote counted by Wednesday morning, Netanyahu’s Likud party and its ultra-Orthodox and farright allies fell short of a 61-seat majority — even if the Yamina party of Netanyahu ally-turnedcritic Naftali Bennett were to join a Netanyahu-led government. Bennett has refused to endorse either side.
At the same time, a small Arab party emerged as a potential kingmaker on Wednesday morning after the latest count indicated it would cross the threshold to get into parliament. Like Bennett, the head of the Ra’am party, Mansour Abbas, has not ruled out joining either camp.
“We’re not in anyone’s pocket,” he told the 103 FM radio station. “We’re willing to have contact with both of the sides with anyone who is trying to form a government and sees himself as a future prime minister,” Abbas added, reflecting the long road of negotiations ahead.
“If there’s an offer we will sit, we will talk.”
With key players on both sides ruling out an alliance with Abbas, a fifth election also remained a possibility if neither camp can form a coalition. In that case, Netanyahu, fondly known as Bibi among his supporters, would remain a caretaker prime minister while facing a corruption trial and possible confrontation with US President Joe Biden over Iran.
The final tally of the votes cast at regular polling stations was near complete on Wednesday, Israeli media said. But even then, much could still change.
The elections commission was still counting about 450,000 absentee ballots from voters who cast them outside their home polling place.
The initial results showed the country as deeply divided as ever, with an array of small sectarian parties dominating the parliament.
The results also signalled a continuing shift of the Israeli electorate toward the right wing, which supports West Bank settlements and opposes concessions in peace talks with the Palestinians. That trend was highlighted by the strong showing of an ultranationalist antiArab religious party.