Exit polls by Israel's leading television channels showed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party drew even with Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union in the election on Tuesday, making the formation of the next government a serious challenge for both candidates.
Channel 10 and Channel 1 said Likud and the Zionist Union had secured 27 seats each in the 120-member Knesset, while Channel 2 said that Netanyahu had eked out a narrow victory, winning 28 seats to 27 for Herzog.
Final results are not expected until early on Wednesday morning. After the publication of the official results the Israeli President, Reuven Rivlin, will consult with the leaders of all the parties who have successfully entered the Knesset, Israel’s 120-member parliament.
About a week after elections he will formally invite the party leader he considers most likely to be able to form a government to attempt to build a coalition with a 61 seat majority in the Knesset. With such close numbers between the top two parties, it will likely prove a difficult process to put together either a left- or right-wing coalition.
The law allows four weeks followed by a two week extension for this process and it typically involves intensive bargaining over ministerial portfolios and government policy.
The existing government continues to serve in a caretaker capacity, and the new government takes office only once it has been approved by the Knesset.
A new government is therefore unlikely to take office before early May.
The first exit polls were released Tuesday at 10 p.m. as voting closed in elections for the 20th Knesset, suggesting a surprisingly good showing for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party versus Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union.
While Likud had trailed by as many as five mandates in pre-election polls, Netanyahu's party led the Zionist Union in one exit poll and was tied with Herzog's party in the two others.
Channel 2's poll had the Likud with 28 mandates, Zionist Union with 27 mandates, the Joint Arab List with 13 mandates, Yesh Atid with 12 mandates, Kulanu with 9 mandates, Bayit Yehudi with 8 mandates, Shas with 7 mandates, United Torah Judaism with 6 mandates, Meretz with 5 mandates, Yisrael Beytenu with 5 mandates and Yahad failing to pass the electoral threshold.
Channel 10's polls had the Zionist Union with 27 mandates, the Likud with 27 mandates, the Joint Arab List with 13 mandates, Yesh Atid with 11 mandates, Kulanu with10 mandates, Bayit Yehudi with 8 mandates, Shas with 7 mandates, United Torah Judaism with 7 mandates, Meretz with 5 mandates, Yisrael Beytenu with 5 mandates and Yahad failing to pass the electoral threshold.
Channel 1's polls had the Zionist Union with 27 mandates, the Likud with 27 mandates, the Joint Arab List with 13 mandates, Yesh Atid with 12 mandates, Kulanu with 10 mandates, Bayit Yehudi with 9 mandates, Shas with 7 mandates, United Torah Judaism with 6 mandates, Meretz with 5 mandates, Yisrael Beytenu with 5 mandates and Yahad failing to pass the electoral threshold.
Voter turnout appeared to be slightly higher than in the 2013 election, with 65.7 percent of eligible voters having cast their ballots as of 8 p.m. At the same point in the 2013 election, 63.9% of voters had cast ballots as of 8 p.m.
The release of the initial exit polls came after a contentious last day of a hard-fought campaign that saw Herzog's Zionist Union ahead by as many as five mandates in the final pre-election polls released Friday. Despite his lead in the polls throughout the late stages of the election campaign, analysts saw Herzog having difficulty garnering the at least 61 mandates needed from among a slew of smaller parties in order to form a coalition.
Herzog's Zionist Union co-leader Tzipi Livni said Monday that she was prepared to forgo a rotation agreement with Herzog in the Prime Minister's office if it proved to be a stumbling block in forming a coalition.
Both Herzog and Netanyahu have spoken out against forming a unity coalition consisting of both parties that would see a rotation agreement between the two men.
However, Nafatli Bennett's right-wing Bayit Yehudi party and Yair Lapid's centrist Yesh Atid said that Livni's move suggests that such a unity government may be in the works.