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Politics

Israelis Vote in First Knesset Election Since October 7 as Neither Bloc Nears a Majority

More than 7.3 million Israelis are eligible to vote for the 120 seats of the Knesset on Tuesday, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and no bloc close to the 61 seats needed to govern.

By admin Oct. 27, 2026 · 6:48 AM ET 2 min read

People waiting in line outside a plain public building used as a polling station on a sunny morning

Polls open across the country

Voting began Tuesday in Israel’s election for the 120 seats of the Knesset, the first general election since the October 7, 2023 attacks. More than 7.3 million people are eligible to vote, according to the Central Elections Committee.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and are scheduled to close at 10 p.m., the committee said. Authorities set up 12,018 polling stations with about 18,000 ballot boxes and deployed around 100,000 election workers to run the vote. Election Day is a statutory public holiday, with many government offices and schools closed while public transport and designated essential services keep running.

A hand placing a blank white ballot envelope into a gray ballot box

Thirty-seven parties and lists are competing. A party or bloc needs 61 seats to form a governing coalition. The main contenders are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, former army chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party, and the Together alliance led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Other lists in the race include the Democrats led by Yair Golan, Yisrael Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman, Jewish Power led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Arab-led lists including the Joint List and the United Arab List.

A modern stone parliament building with tall columns and an empty plaza in front

No bloc close to a majority

Pre-election trackers put Netanyahu’s coalition at around 50 seats on average and showed no clear path for any single bloc to reach 61 seats, according to Particle’s summary of the race. That leaves smaller parties and Arab-led lists likely to hold decisive bargaining power once the count is done, with coalition talks expected to decide the outcome.

Security and accountability for the October 7 attacks are central voter concerns, along with how coalition partners handle military service exemptions, the judiciary, and the economy. Vote counting is scheduled to begin after polls close, with television channels expected to publish exit polls shortly after voting ends and preliminary results anticipated overnight. The committee has scheduled the publication of official results for November 4.

A row of curtained voting booths inside a bright school hall

Some votes were already cast abroad. A total of 4,218 Israelis voted early at 101 polling stations set up across 99 diplomatic missions on October 15 and 16, a turnout of 86.7 percent of the 4,863 eligible overseas voters, according to the committee.

Reporting based on coverage by ABNA and Particle.

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