Israeli president begins consultations on new government formation
Israeli President Isaac Herzog accepted the certified results from last week’s vote on Wednesday and announced he would begin consultations with party representatives regarding the formation of a new government, reports BritPanorama.
Neither the party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, secured an outright majority in parliament. The two factions are now engaged in intensive negotiations to persuade smaller parties to join forces in order to establish a new government.
Earlier in the day, Israel’s election commission confirmed that it found no evidence of fraud during the recent election, undermining Netanyahu’s efforts to delegitimize the results. Claims made by Netanyahu and his supporters alleging that Arab-led parties “stole” the election, potentially with foreign assistance, were dismissed.
The results indicated that Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist bloc has lost its parliamentary majority, while Arab-led parties gained significant ground.
In a statement, the elections committee confirmed, “The review found no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results.”
Dean Livne, the acting director of the elections committee, stated that every complaint was examined “individually and thoroughly,” and no evidence was found to support claims that the election results were invalid. He added that the results, set to be formally certified Wednesday, “accurately reflect the choices voters made at the ballot box.” A separate investigation by the Shin Bet intelligence service regarding allegations of foreign interference in the election is still ongoing.
The elections committee has acknowledged that while accusations of foreign interference are serious, it does not believe any such actions influenced the election results. The head of the committee, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg, noted, “Our position is that even if the suspicions are substantiated, this would not undermine the integrity of the electoral process or the election results as a whole.”
Netanyahu’s campaign has not responded to requests for comment on the election outcomes.
Following the acceptance of the certified results, President Herzog will begin meetings on Wednesday with each party elected to parliament. After two days of consultations, he is expected to choose the candidate—likely either Netanyahu or Eisenkot—most likely to form a coalition government, setting the stage for extended negotiations ahead.
Neither Netanyahu’s nor Eisenkot’s coalition has secured the parliamentary majority required to form a government, raising the possibility of a coalition between the two rivals or a partnership between Eisenkot and some of the Arab-led parties. Should neither candidate succeed in establishing a government, a new election could take place early next year.
