Herzog Accepts Israel's Election Results, Opening Talks on Next Government

On Wednesday night, Israeli President Isaac Herzog began receiving party leaders at his residence, a step that formally started the process of choosing who will try to form the country's next government. Earlier in the day he had accepted the certified results of the October 27 parliamentary election. In doing so he undercut Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign to cast doubt on the vote, in which Netanyahu and his allies lost their majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

The arithmetic is stubborn. A government needs 61 seats, and neither side reached it. Netanyahu's coalition won 53. The bloc led by opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot won 48. Arab-led parties, Ra'am and the Joint List, together secured a record 19 seats, which leaves two possible routes: an arrangement between the two main rivals, or one between Eisenkot and the Arab-led parties.

"The elections are over. Now is the time to face reality," Herzog said. He asked both camps to compromise to avoid another election, acknowledging that "not every commitment and promise can be fulfilled." Because there is no clear winner, he said, he was asking for "originality and creativity, courage and goodwill."

The first round of consultations showed how the sides are lining up. Three factions aligned with Netanyahu's religious-nationalist base recommended that he get the chance to form a coalition. A fourth, led by a former Netanyahu ally turned rival, backed Eisenkot. Eight more parties, including both Arab-led factions, are due to meet Herzog on Thursday. Eisenkot's Yashar party and Netanyahu's Likud will go last.

Eisenkot's position improved when Ra'am said it would recommend him. According to the Israeli news site Ynet, that brings his expected support to 56 lawmakers, still short of a majority. The Joint List has not stated its position. Channel 12 reported it is expected to coordinate with Eisenkot, endorsing him if asked or abstaining if he prefers. Its 11 seats could carry him past 61.

Netanyahu's bloc may not even deliver its full 53 endorsements. Degel HaTorah, which holds four of United Torah Judaism's seven seats, said it would recommend neither candidate. The Times of Israel reported that the ultra-Orthodox faction broke with Netanyahu because his coalition failed to pass legislation exempting Haredi men from military service.

The backdrop is the fraud narrative. Netanyahu and his supporters have repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims that Arab-led parties "stolen" the election, possibly with foreign help. On Wednesday, Israel's elections commission said it had thoroughly investigated all parties' fraud claims and found "no evidence of irregularities that compromised the integrity of the election or affected its results." Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara also rejected a request to question elected officials without supporting evidence.

Herzog said he backed investigating suspected interference, but warned against smearing Palestinian-Israeli voters. He expressed "great respect" for the Palestinian minority, which makes up about 20 percent of the population. "I condemn the coarseness and racist expressions that we have heard recently," he said.

Once consultations end, Herzog has several days to pick the candidate he thinks best placed to build a coalition, almost certainly Netanyahu or Eisenkot. That person will have 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. If neither succeeds, Israel goes back to the polls early next year.