Israel certifies election results as Ra'am backs Eisenkot

Israel’s Central Elections Committee on Wednesday, November 4, certified the results of the parliamentary elections held on October 27 and said it had found no evidence of fraud. The committee chairman, Supreme Court Justice Noam Zolberg, handed the results to President Isaac Herzog, who accepted them as legally binding. That same evening the Arab party Ra’am announced it would recommend Gadi Eisenkot as prime minister.

What did the commission find about the Israel election results?

The committee reviewed 9,069 polling stations and, according to its statement, found no irregularities that would threaten the integrity of the vote or change its outcome. Acting director general Din Livne said every complaint had been examined individually and that the results accurately reflect the will of the voters.

In the committee’s five-member leadership, representatives of Yesh Atid and Blue and White voted for certification, while Likud and Shas abstained, and Zolberg himself cast the deciding vote. Ynet reports that the decision passed with three votes in favor, none against and two abstentions.

At the ceremony in the president’s residence, Zolberg said the suspicions of foreign interference, which the Shin Bet is investigating, remain only suspicions for now:

“At this stage these are only suspicions, and even if they are confirmed, the scope of their possible impact is limited.”

He added that the results were published on time and that any evidence emerging later can be handled through the legal process for challenging an election. He also warned that those who cast doubt on the outcome of the vote are a “real danger” to Israeli democracy, and he closed the ceremony with the line: “The election results, as lawfully determined, bind all of us.”

How are the 120 Knesset seats divided?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc won 48, and the Arab parties Ra’am and the Joint List together won a record 19, up from ten in the previous election. A government needs 61 seats, so neither side has a majority.

Netanyahu and his allies keep repeating, without evidence, that the Arab parties stole the election, possibly with foreign help. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir wrote on X that his party, Otzma Yehudit, is voting against certification for that reason:

“The election was stolen, the results are fake, foreign states interfered.”

According to Israeli media, the Shin Bet asked the attorney general for approval to question several Arab lawmakers, among them Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara replied:

“It is not permitted to question citizens or elected officials without evidence that justifies such a step.”

Likud accused the attorney general of blocking the investigations, and the Joint List called the request a “campaign of incitement”.

What did Herzog tell the parties?

Herzog began two days of consultations on Wednesday, this time in reverse order from the usual one: the smaller parties came first, while the largest, Eisenkot’s Yashar and Likud, are scheduled for Thursday evening. On the first day he received Religious Zionism, Shas, Yisrael Beytenu and Zehut.

In front of the cameras he said the campaign is over:

“The election is over. Now is the time to face reality.”

He also condemned the tone of the campaign: “I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions we have heard lately.” According to Ynet, in his meeting with Religious Zionism lawmakers he asked Orit Strook how she tells racism apart from what she says, since she has called the Arab national parties illegitimate partners and accused them of a “civil jihad”. Herzog replied that he does not want a racist message to leave that room, because it is carried to the whole world.

Religious Zionism and Shas recommended Netanyahu. Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu recommended Eisenkot, and lawmaker Oded Forer explained the choice this way:

“If I look at who has the best chance of forming a government, it is Gadi Eisenkot.”

Forer also repeated that a government cannot be built with the Arab parties. Zehut leader Moshe Feiglin said he will recommend Netanyahu but wants new elections: “We will recommend Netanyahu because we promised to.”

Why does the Ra’am decision matter for the mandate?

Ra’am, with eight lawmakers, announced in a short statement at 7:50 p.m. Israel time that it recommends Eisenkot. That brings Eisenkot to 56 recommendations and probably makes him the first to receive the mandate. Before the decision, Ynet counted 48 recommendations for Eisenkot (Yashar, Beyachad, the Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu) and 46 for Netanyahu (Likud, Otzma Yehudit, Religious Zionism and Shas).

The arithmetic is still complicated. Before the election Eisenkot promised that Ra’am would not join his government, and Liberman has said he will not back a minority government. Degel HaTorah, part of United Torah Judaism, will not recommend any candidate, while the Joint List, with 11 lawmakers, has not yet announced its decision and may abstain.

Whoever receives the mandate has 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension of 14 days. If no coalition is assembled, Israel faces new elections early next year. After the November 2022 election, with a stronger Likud result, Netanyahu needed 58 days to form his government.