Israelis went to the polls on Tuesday in a national election whose first exit polls, released in the early hours of Wednesday, showed no bloc with a clear majority in the 120 seat Knesset, Israel's parliament.
Under Israel's system, voters choose parties rather than individual candidates, and seats are awarded by proportional representation. A government needs the support of at least 61 lawmakers, which almost always means stitching together a coalition of several parties after the vote rather than any single party governing alone. That is exactly the position the country now finds itself in: exit polls suggested a close, closely divided outcome between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp and a coalition of rivals.
Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief of staff who now leads the Yashar party, whose name means Straight, told supporters that he believed Israelis had voted for change, though he stopped short of declaring outright victory. Netanyahu, addressing his own supporters after the exit polls came in, thanked his supporters and described a strong showing among Jewish Israeli voters even as the overall numbers pointed to a tighter race than in past elections.
Netanyahu has led Israel for most of the past two decades across several non consecutive terms, making him the country's longest serving prime minister. Coalition building in Israel can take days or weeks, with party leaders negotiating cabinet posts and policy commitments before a new or returning government is sworn in. Final, certified results typically take longer to arrive than exit polls, which are based on voter surveys rather than counted ballots, so the shape of the next Israeli government may not be settled for some time.
Watch for official vote counts in the coming days, which will determine exactly how many seats each party holds, followed by the formal coalition talks that decide who becomes prime minister and which parties join the government.
Did Israel elect a new government on Wednesday?
No single result was finalized; exit polls showed a close race and coalition negotiations are expected to follow in the coming days and weeks.
Why does no party simply win outright in Israel?
Israel uses proportional representation, so seats are divided among many parties and a coalition of 61 or more seats is needed to form a government.