Central Elections Committee Chairman Justice Noam Sohlberg presented the official results of Israel’s 26th Knesset election to Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, saying “election results, as lawfully determined, are binding on us all.”
The committee approved the results earlier Wednesday in a 15-2 vote, with 14 abstentions, following the completion of vote counting and verification.
Addressing the investigation into suspected foreign interference, Sohlberg said that even if the suspicions were substantiated, their potential impact would be limited. He stressed that the suspicions must not cast doubt on votes cast by Arab citizens and said the law provides for an election appeal should evidence emerge later.
Herzog said any suspicion of “subversive foreign interference” in the election results must be fully investigated by the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and police. He expressed confidence in the law enforcement authorities and cautioned against blaming Israel’s Arab community, saying “an entire community must not be smeared.”
Earlier Wednesday, the committee said its review of complaints and requests from parties, candidate lists and the public found “no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results.”
The certification came amid a dispute over the investigation. Israeli media reported that Zini and Baharav-Miara had clashed over the scope of the Shin Bet’s investigative powers, with the attorney general insisting that evidence was required before elected officials could be questioned or additional security powers employed.
Likud lawmaker Amit Halevy resigned from the committee on Wednesday in protest, saying suspicions of foreign interference had not been properly examined. Committee representatives from coalition parties also demanded an immediate meeting to discuss the allegations and access to the materials provided to Sohlberg.
A total of 5,717,397 people voted in the election. The committee’s verification process included reviewing records from 9,069 polling stations.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc won 53 seats, compared with 48 for the Zionist opposition parties—Yashar, B’Yachad (Together), The Democrats and Yisrael Beiteinu. The Joint List and Ra’am together secured 19 seats, leaving neither bloc with the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority.
The final allocation was Likud, 27; Yashar, 21; B’Yachad (Together), 12; the Joint List, 11; The Democrats and Ra’am, eight each; Yisrael Beiteinu, Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism, seven each; and Shas and Religious Zionism, six each.
Herzog said consultations with party representatives on forming the next government would begin on Wednesday evening. With no clear winner, he urged factions to show “originality and creativity, courage and goodwill” to avoid another election and form a stable government.
