Israeli Elections: Another Stalemate?

Israel elections: Netanyahu and Gantz stalemate

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to carry on after a decade in office with a historic victory in Tuesday’s election, and to be tasked with forming a government for the sixth time, remained up in the air late on Tuesday, after exit polls predicted a stalemate.

The final unofficial results were only expected on Wednesday afternoon, but according to exit polls on all three channels, neither Netanyahu nor Gantz had a clear path to a coalition.

Turnout in the race was 69.4% – higher than expected – even though Israelis went to the polls for the second time in five months. Arab turnout was up from 49% in the April 9 election.

According to Channel 13, Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc has a total of 54 seats, and the center-left bloc of Blue and White 58, including the Joint List. The other two polls gave the Center-Right bloc an advantage: 57-55 in Channel 12’s poll, and 56-54 in Channel 11’s.

Likud ministers Miri Regev, Haim Katz and Amir Ohana reacted immediately by saying that despite not achieving his goal of 61 seats for his bloc, according to the exit polls, he would not be deposed as leader of Likud.

Regev urged caution at the Likud’s main event in Tel Aviv, where the mood was dour.

“Let’s wait for the real results,” she told a gaggle of reporters. “We saw gaps between the exit polls and the real results in the last election. Then we’ll know the situation. In 2009, Kadima was the biggest party, but [its leader Tzipi] Livni couldn’t form a government.”

MK Miki Zohar, a close ally of Netanyahu, said Likud “won’t give up on our natural partners,” meaning the other right-wing parties, but said that whether Netanyahu can form a coalition may “depend on the decisions of the other side and not us. We do not disqualify other people the way they do,” he added, after three months of negative campaigning. “We want to unite people.”

Likud MK Yoav Kisch said “it doesn’t look good,” but expressed hope that Likud would fare better in the real results.

“I don’t see Gantz being able to form a government, either, so it’ll either be Netanyahu or a third election,” Kisch posited.