Exit polls following Israeli elections indicate no clear winner

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The official results are due to be published on November ۴, more than a week after the vote.

Exit polls following what many pundits and voters have billed as the most pivotal election in Israel’s history indicate no clear winner in the hard-fought contest.

According to exit polls, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is projected to secure ۵۰ seats, while the bloc led by opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot is expected to win ۵۲ or ۵۳ seats. Sixty-one seats are needed to form a majority government. Arab parties are projected to collectively win ۱۸ seats.

Polling stations closed at ۱۰pm (۲۰:۰۰ GMT) local time. Preliminary results are expected on Wednesday, followed by a final tally on Friday. The official results are due to be published on November ۴, eight days after the vote.

Exit polls are based on interviews with voters immediately after they have cast their ballots. The interviews help project the election’s outcome and have in previous elections tended to anticipate the results closely.

Voter turnout in the Israeli election reached ۷۴.۳ percent as of ۸pm (۱۸:۰۰ GMT), according to data released by the Central Elections Committee. By comparison, turnout in the ۲۰۲۲ election was ۷۰.۶۳ percent.

Polls predicted a tight race between incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leading opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot, the leader of the Yashar party and a former army chief.

Israel’s Central Elections Committee rejected a request by Netanyahu’s Likud Party to extend voting hours.

The election is the first since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza three years ago, following Hamas-led attacks on the country, and is widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s handling of the events on October ۷, ۲۰۲۳ and the conflicts that followed.