Israeli election turnout reaches 77.7% as Arab parties poised for historic gains

By Tarek Chouiref

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turnout in Israel’s parliamentary elections reached 77.7% Tuesday, the highest since 1999, the Central Elections Committee said, as exit polls projected historic gains for Arab parties.

The committee said participation was up 7.1 percentage points from the 2022 election.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported an 80% turnout among Arab voters. Its exit poll projected 18 seats for Arab parties in the 120-seat Knesset compared with 52 for the bloc led by Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot and 50 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc.

Neither bloc was projected to win the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.

A separate Channel 13 exit poll gave Eisenkot’s bloc 53 seats, Netanyahu’s bloc 50 and Arab parties 17.

Channel 12 also reported that President Isaac Herzog was expected to task Eisenkot with forming the next government, although the decision would depend on the official results and parliamentary parties’ recommendations.

Vote counting began after polls closed at 10 pm local time (2000GMT). Exit polls are projections, not official election results.