The election comes at a time when the country is divided over the Prime Minister’s leadership. The people of Israel are set to vote on October 27 in the country’s first national election since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, and Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Gaza.
Winning the most votes may not be enough to become prime minister. Both leaders will need the support of smaller parties to form a government. Here are four possible outcomes of the election. However, such an alliance may not be easy as the parties would need to agree on who becomes prime minister and what policies the government should follow. Even if the opposition wins more seats, its parties may not agree to work together. Some right-wing parties may refuse to cooperate with Arab parties, while others may disagree over who should become prime minister. Once the votes are counted, Israeli President Isaac Herzog will meet political party leaders and ask them whom they support to lead the next government. He will then choose the candidate he believes has the best chance of forming a coalition.
Israel’s Parliament has 120 seats. A party or alliance needs at least 61 seats to form a government with a majority. The country held five elections between 2019 and 2022 as parties struggled to agree on a government.
Neither Netanyahu nor his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, is expected to win enough seats on their own, according to opinion polls.
